Grim Tales: Complex
by Aros001
Summary: After an attack on his family Junior returns home after many years. Though he has his own reasons for staying away he finds he keeps getting drawn back. Because someone is trying to get him back. Rated M for language, fights, incest (because Grim Tales), and some (maybe) small future lemons.
1. To Hel with poor planning

**I own no rights to** **The Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy** **, nor am I affiliated with** **Grim Tales** **by Bleedman.**

So, just to let you know right now, there are going to be lemons in this story, but they will not be the focus of the story and be very scattered throughout the story. They'll happen where I think they'll best fit with the plot and I just wanted to give that warning before it was too late.

* * *

 **Part 1: To Hel with poor planning**

"For the record, I blame you."

"Shut up, Manny."

Five minutes earlier:

The realm of Hel (that's H-E-single hockey stick): one of the less than luxurious of the nine Norse realms that hang on the tree Yggdrasil. A barren, cold wasteland of the fallen, lined simply with rock, ice, and the bodies of the long forgotten. Hel is another of the many realms of the dead throughout the Underworld, filled with the souls of those who died less than gloriously and who now exist in just the same way. Their endless days are simple. They exist as part of their master's collection…and not much else happens beyond that. There are a few exceptions to this, such as when the ruler's father comes to visit, a hero comes to reclaim the soul of a loved one, or today when a pair of over-zealous ghost twins (mainly the boy) appeared from nowhere and started beating the shit out of everyone.

"I thought you said they'd be a challenge." The girl said to her brother as she ecto-blasted another rotting soldier against the rocks.

The brother was busy flying around and punching his way through everything he could find. "Not my fault they don't live up to the hype." He said with a sneer as he caused the head of one of the fallen to be knocked yards away from its body. "Guess I'm just too strong for them."

"Yes…that's the reason." She responded resignedly, turning intangible and causing a sword to pass harmlessly through her.

These two are Manny and Daniela, the fourth and fifth human-ghost hybrids to ever exist, and, at the ages of sixteen, the youngest of the children of the House of Grim.

They're here because they didn't think this through.

"Well that was boring." Manny said as he dropped the last of the dead men. "What's your count at?"

"Manny, I told you before that I'm not interested in your juvenile entertainment."

"Mine's at 540."

"550."

"You liar! My blasts hit way more than yours do!"

"No, you just let yourself think they do because of all the dust you blow around when you miss." She said stately.

Manny boiled. "Why I oughta-!"

He was then interrupted by the massive blood-stain wolf monster, significantly larger than both of them, that slammed down in front of the two, its four paws cracking the ground as it landed. As the beast snarled at the two teens who invaded the hound's territory, Manny asked in awe "What is that?"

"That would be Garmr, the watchdog of Hel and guardian of its gates." Said the computerized weapon resting on Manny's back. This weapon is known as Scythe 2.0, the next generation in Reaping technology (made in 2005). Manny is not one for ever using weapons, so having such a tool with him is very unusual, but we'll get into that later.

"Guardian of the gates?" Manny asked the blade. "So…it's stronger than everything else here, right?"

"Well, that's one way of looking at it." Scythe 2.0 responded.

"Dibs!" Manny yelled as he dove at the dog-beast. Daniela sighed and rolled her eyes at her sibling's battle hungry and short sighted attitude (making a mental note to herself to remind him this still only counts as one).

Garmr bit at him, but Manny dodged underneath the wolf's legs and got behind him. Manny charged up his ecto-beam, but the wolf swung its mighty tail at him. Manny turned intangible but the tail hit him anyway and sent him flying back, smacking first into a frozen stalactite and then onto the ground.

"The beast is meant to keep the dead in, Manny. Obviously it would have ways of dealing with ghosts." Daniela called out to him with a slight know-it-all tone in her voice.

Manny slowly got back to his feet as the hound bounded at him at top speed, teeth bared. "Fine by me." Manny smirked, a little bit of green blood dripping from his mouth. "I don't like using tricks anyway!" The ghost teen took in a deep breath and let loose the Ghostly Wail, a powerful ecto-fueled sonic scream, at the monster that shook the very ground itself. Garmr was sent tumbling back, not expecting such powerful attack from such a young opponent, and crashing into the rocks. Garmr was about to get back up when he was then slammed even further back by Manny's ghost ray. Manny hit the hound again and again with his blasts until finally he heard the dog whine for mercy.

Manny ended his attacks and beamed with triumph as the wolf collapsed. "Beat that." He smirked to his sister.

Again, Daniela had to roll her eyes at her sibling's attitude. They'd known each other their entire lives and Manny's cocky attitude was something she'd long grown tired of. Looking over to the limping body of Garmr, she commented "If this wolf is truly as strong as they come in this realm, it would seem our business is done here."

"Well, there's still is always Hela herself." Manny commented, floating back over to his sister.

"I would heavily recommend against that idea." Scythe 2.0 said. "Dead soldiers are one thing, but Hela is a literal Goddess. It would be unwise to provoke her wrath, especially if she is not already aware of the mess you have just caused within her realm."

"Aw, you worry too much." Manny said to the blade. "Come on, Dani, what do you say? Winner takes all on Hela?"

"You speak as though the score is tied, brother." Daniela said, part of her honestly curious as to how she'd fair against a Goddess. "Or that you actually have a chance." She goaded.

Manny straightened his collar smugly as he walked past her. "Give me just a minute alone with her and I guarantee you Hel will have a new ruler quicker than you can-"

Manny's hype was interrupted as he smacked face-first into a large metal pillar. He had not noticed it before because it was not there before. Rubbing his sore nose, he and Daniela gazed upwards and discovered the metal pillar was in reality a leg, attached to giant metal man, roughly 30 tall with a large cannon attached to his right arm and a purple insignia on his chest.

Both twin backed up in awe of giant, neither having expected anything larger than a frost giant on this adventure, much less what appeared to be a robot.

The large metal man grinned sadistically at the ghost children and pointed his cannon at them, the muzzle glowing as it prepared to fire.

Being completely straight-forward by nature, Manny's first instinct was to counter the upcoming blast with his own and within his palms started building up a powerful ecto-blast. And just as he was about to fire, Scythe 2.0 cried out "Masters! Behind you!"

Caught off guard by the shout, Manny could not react in time. But thankfully for him, Daniela could, grabbing her brother by the collar as she bolted upwards, getting out of the way just in time to avoid the powerful red energy beams that came from behind.

Both looking down to where the blasts came from, they saw a tall green man with a single shoulder pad and gauntlet on his left arm, a broadsword on his back, and a face not unlike that of Cthulhu's. The man did not give them time to adjust to his alien appearance as he fired again at the twins, the beams coming from his eyes.

Still holding onto Manny, Daniela flew to avoid the beams, but every time she changed direction to avoid them, the beams would bend their path to follow. As they started to catch up, Manny signaled for Daniela to let go of him. She complied and released him. Hovering in midair, Manny turned to face the beams and let loose the energy he'd stored, hitting the beams dead-on and overwhelming them, disrupting the path and ending the threat.

The twins floated side-by-side, neither taking their eyes off the new opponents that had attempted to ambush them. The waited patiently, ready to strike the moment either enemy made their move.

…This left them vulnerable to the blast that struck them from behind, the power being too fast for Scythe 2.0 to warn them of in time. Pain rippled through the bodies of both ghost until the blast ended and both fell to the ground.

As Manny and Daniela struggled to remain conscious, the man who struck them walked up to the twins, followed soon by his allies. He was a very muscular blue man in a purple loincloth and boots, his most noticeable features being his skeleton face and his staff, with what appeared to be the head of a ram on the end of it.

"See, I told you we'd get lucky eventually." He told he companions, his voice a higher pitch than one would expect from a man of his build. "It was only a matter of time and my genius planning."

"Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back, Skeletor." The giant said. "Just get it on with."

The blue man muttered under his breath about breaking the robot's arm as he moved closer to the twins. Daniela was the first of the two to sit back up, but could not yet move much beyond that. "Do…do you have any idea who we are?" She panted.

"Should we?" The octopus-faced man asked.

"We are Daniela and Manny of the house of grim, third and fourth in line for the throne of Death, and children of the great queen Mandy! Any act against as is an act against her!" She threatened.

"Never heard of her." The giant commented.

"Contrary to my appearance, none of us are from around here." Skeletor explained. "I am Skeletor, future ruler of Eternia! These two are my current allies, Vilgax and Megatron. As you may have guessed, they are aliens."

Manny's head tilted up at that last bit. "Aliens? WE GET ALIENS DOWN HERE?!" His face almost lit up with excitement as he spoke.

"WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DOWN HERE!" Megatron roared in rage. "Starscream's incompetence caused my ship to burn up as I reentered your planet's atmosphere and me with it! Now the great Megatron is trapped in this cursed Earth Underworld."

"At least you'll have someone to punish for your death." Vilgax commented. "My ship's reactor core malfunctioned and blew up while I slept."

"And at least you both chose to go to Earth!" Skeletor ranted. "I'm not even from this dimension!"

"How'd you die?" Manny asked in curiosity.

"Dog show." Skeletor said bitterly. "I don't want to talk about it."

"It doesn't matter how we got here." Megatron said impatiently. "What matters is that we're going to get free!"

"What-what do you need us for?" Daniela asked.

"We don't need you. We need that." Vilgax explained, pointing at Scythe 2.0.

"Me?" The weapon asked in surprise.

"We could all feel its power from the moment the two of you entered this realm." Skeletor explained. "That level of technology, mixed with that level of magic, we can easily use it to tear open a doorway out of this blasted place and back to our homes!"

Daniela managed to get to her feet, feeling a little better that Manny was able to do the same in his effort to protect Scythe 2.0. "We…we cannot allow that." Daniela stated bravely. "The souls of the dead are to stay where father has placed them, no exceptions. And we certainly are not going to allow three filths such as yourselves to abuse what belongs to our mother."

"I'm curious as to where it was in this conversation that you believed your opinion mattered to us." Vilgax stated, pulling out his sword.

"You saw what we did to the rest of this realm. We can take you!" Manny declared.

"Perhaps you could." Skeletor commented. "After all, even we had trouble with Garmr and all it took was one of you to take him down."

"Yeah! That's right!" Manny boasted. "So you'd better just back off if you know what's good for you!"

"Oh, you're right, child." Skeletor feigned despair as he turned away from them. "After all, I can only think of one thing that could possibly give us an edge over you two…"

Skeletor then sharply turned back to the twins, blasting them with his Havoc Staff. An energy field surround the two and pain rippled through their bodies as the staff suspended them in the air, the agony far worse than last time.

"I've dealt with the supernatural before!" Skeletor cried over the twins' screams of pain. "I have spells specifically designed to deal with ghosts!"

The pain was too much and neither of the twin could move beyond it. They didn't even see it as Vilgax and Megatron smirked at the children's pain and fired their respective blasts. A direct hit and both fell to the ground.

Skeletor inspected the singed bodies of the teens. "It's risky to leave your enemies in one piece, you know." He said to the other two.

"If we'd gone any further we might have destroyed the scythe and all this would have been for nothing." Vilgax spat.

"Fair enough." Skeletor said as he removed the scythe from Manny's back.

As his eyes glowed while beholding its majesty, he was suddenly startled when two white circles appeared around the ghost twins, sliding across them and reverting them back to their black haired human forms.

"They are ghosts and humans?!" Skeletor exclaimed. "I…I don't think I've ever encountered such a creature! The…the possibilities of what they could do!"

"If you'd like to stay behind to study them, you're more than welcome to, Skeletor." Vilgax said, extending his hand to take the scythe.

Skeletor looked back and forth between the scythe and the twins before finally pulling the scythe closer to himself. "…No. I think the scythe will be more than enough to satisfy my curiosity. But do not worry, my allies, I have not forgotten our deal. Our first stops shall be at your respective planets and then I will return to Eternia."

"Hold on a minute." Megatron intruded. "That implies that the scythe shall stay with you. What makes you think I will allow that?"

"Oh please. Like you could ever fully comprehend the true might of this supernatural power, you festering bucket of bolts." Skeletor spat. "Only a magical and scientific mind on my level would know how to truly use it."

"If we are basing possession on who could truly master its power, than I am the only true candidate." Vilgax spoke. "Out of everyone here, I am the only one who has known true power, like that of the Diagon."

"Power which you lost to a teenager!" Skeletor pointed out.

"And in all your battles, you've both lost to humans." Megatron snapped back. "The scythe's power will serve me best in destroying the Autobots once and for all!"

"Don't I get a say in this?" Scythe 2.0 asked.

"NO!" All three yelled.

As the three villains bickered with each other over the scythe, Daniela slowly regained consciousness. She held her pounding head as she straightened herself up. Seeing that the villains were paying no attention to them anymore, it was the perfect opportunity to escape. Unfortunately, she knew that she couldn't just leave without Scythe 2.0. If it was powerful enough for her mother to keep it locked up in her vault, then it was too powerful to be left in their hands. And with Manny still knocked out, it was up to her.

"Scythe 2.0!" She yelled out, startling all three of the villains. "I order you to shut down!"

"As you wish, mistress Daniiiiii-[click]." Scythe 2.0 trailed off as he ceased all function.

Skeletor looked at the lifeless device in his hands. He shook it but nothing happened. "What-what have you done?!" He yelled in fury.

"That weapon belongs to my mother. As her daughter I have the authority to shut it down and prevent anyone other than her from using it." Daniela stated defiantly (which was a bluff, as she had no idea if that order would have worked or not). "It's useless to you now."

She could almost feel the rage flare from both Skeletor and Megatron. She tensed herself, ready to go ghost and fight at a moment's notice. But then Vilgax spoke.

"From we've just seen, it can be shut down by voice command and likely turned on the same way. Meaning our best chance for turning it back on is to get you to cooperate…or taking out your vocal cords and figuring it out from there."

Daniela made a small gulp as Megatron and Skeletor's faces changed from rage to a sinister smile. "I like the way you think, Vilgax." Skeletor chuckled. "For now, let us not worry about ownership. Once we're free of here, then we can fight it out to our heart's content."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Megatron sneered as he advanced towards Daniela. Daniela's eyes reflected her fear, but she stood her ground. Megatron dove his fist forward, striking where she stood hard, sending rock, bone, and snow flying up from the spot.

Megatron sneered, convinced he got her, until he realized he couldn't feel her body under his hand.

And then from his hand popped out the intangible Daniela, back in her ghost form. Using the Decepticon leader's surprise to her advantage, she used both hands to hit him dead-on with the most powerful ecto-blast she could create. Everyone in the immediate vicinity was momentarily blinded by the incredible green light.

As the smoke cleared, Daniela floated panting, rarely ever having used so much power in one go. She was ready to attempt taking the scythe back from Skeletor, but when the smoke cleared fully, she froze. As still standing before her was Megatron, several scratches on his chest from where she'd hit him, but otherwise undamaged.

"Heh…pathetic." Megatron scoffed. He threw his fist at her again and this time the ghost girl was too overwhelmed by fear to save herself. He struck her hard into the ground and then for good measure, picked her up in his hand and slammed her into it again.

The vibration through the ground caused Manny to start waking up, just in time to see the proud Megatron let the beaten Daniela slide from his hand and fall on the ground next to him.

"D-Daniela?" He stuttered as he looked at her beaten body. He could see her still breathing and the fact that she was still in her ghost form meant that she was still conscious, but she was too hurt to do any more fighting. "What…what did you do to my sister?!"

"Oh, now he's awake." Skeletor commented. "Should probably take him out too, just in case."

"Do not tell me what to do." Vilgax threatened as he walked towards the twins, brandishing his sword.

Manny wanted to change form and fight, but he'd wasted too much energy earlier fighting the dead and Garmr. It was a mistake he made often while fighting and now this was going to be time he and his sister really paid for it.

As Vilgax raised his sword above them, Manny held his eyes tightly closed and waited for the deathblow to be struck.

But it never came. At least, not to the twins. For out of seemingly nowhere, a massive chunk of metal spun past Skeletor and Megatron and struck Vilgax. The weight of the object sent the alien flying and he was impaled by his back to a rock wall by the massive iron stake.

Megatron and Skeletron were struck speechless. Manny and Daniela just stared wide-eyed at Vilgax, still adjusting to the fact that they were alive. And Vilgax was gagging on his own blood, the metal gouging through a good chunk of his torso.

"Huh. Honestly surprised it didn't hit the big guy."

Everyone (expect the physically unable Vilgax) turned to the direction of the voice. There they saw a rather tall and very thin man, clad in a black hooded jacket, with green skull buttons lining the chest and along the sleeves. His eyes glowed bright green and a tuft of brown hair stuck out from under his hood.

"What…?" Skeletor gaped as the man walked forward to them.

"Oh! Didn't see you there, Skeletor." The man said casually. "Alright. This is good. Having you three all together like this is going to be a huge time saver."

"Time saver?" Skeletor asked, but the man ignored him, walking up to Vilgax.

"Hey, Vilgax, before you slip into rigor mortis or anything, you got to settle a bet I've got with a guy at Moe's. He says your species only has one organ, like an Irken. I say it's got to be more than that. Which is it?"

"CCCHGGHHKKKKK!" Vilgax exclaimed through his gasps for air.

"Look, buddy, just play ball here and I'll split the bet with you. 60-40, what do you s-…" The man trailed off as he finally noticed Manny and Daniela. "Hold that thought."

He walked over to the twins, Manny preparing to fight to protect his sister if need be. The man just looked at the two for a minute before saying "I'll be honest, you two are not the last people I thought I'd ever see here, but you're definitely close."

"You-….you know who we are?" Manny asked hesitantly.

The man raised an eyebrow at the two. "Do you two really not recognize me? …Well…yeah, I suppose it has been quite a few years. You both were…what, three, four years old the last time I saw you?"

As the twins looked back and forth between each other in confusion, Megatron finally lost his patience. "You! Human! Who are you?!"

"Easy, rusty, I'll be with you in a minute." The man waved him off, before noticing what was in Skeletor's hands. "…Scythe 2.0?"

Before either could react, the man was suddenly right in front of Skeletor and yoinked the weapon from his hands. "Scythe 2.0, activate." He commanded.

The weapon lit back up and his word and said "Scythe 2.0, operational. How may I be of serv-! Master Junior! What a pleasant surprise!"

" _Master Junior?"_ Thought both twins. "Brother?"

"About time." He smirked.

He was about to talk with his siblings when Skeletor leapt and tried to take the scythe back from him. Junior just casually pulled it away from him, turned him around, and kicked him back to Megatron. "Rude." He commented.

Turning back to the Reaper, Skeletor yelled "Give that back! We stole it first!"

"Really? Why?" Junior asked. "I mean, I know it's powerful, but most of the people I know who've used this thing just call it a piece of crud. Why would you want it? No offence, twoey."

"None taken, sir." The computerized voice said. "It would seem these three, er, two gentlemen wish to use me to open a portal out of this realm and back to their own."

"Fair enough." Junior said. "So here's a better question, why are you here in this realm?"

"That, I'm afraid, is a little more complicated of a story."

"How complicated could it-…..oh my God." Junior started to say before pinching the space between his eyes. He didn't even turn to look at the twins when he continued. "Oh my God, you two idiots stole from mom's vault!"

"We did not steal him!" Daniela defended.

"Then how do you have him?!" Junior yelled.

"As I said, that is a rather complicated story, parts of which are actually classified." Scythe 2.0 explained.

"And I'm guessing that story involves these two taking you into a realm that your owner would no way in hell allow you to go to." Junior stated.

"Well…."

"Enough of this!" Megatron roared, blasting his cannon at the entire group (including Skeletor). Junior pushed the twins quickly to the side before getting out of the way himself. The Decepticon leader continued a rapid fire assault at them all, the adrenaline of the danger being enough for Manny and Daniela get back on their feet and fly to avoid the shots.

Doing his best to avoid the shots himself, Skeletor went straight after Junior.

"Give me that scythe!" He yelled as the head on his staff glowed brightly with power.

"Ok." Junior said calmly and spun the scythe forward, jabbing the blade into the wizard's midsection. But he didn't stop there. Junior continued the spin and used his momentum to fling Skeletor off the scythe and into the metal that impaled Vilgax, making him share the same fate.

"…This! Is! The worst! Pain! EVER!" Skeletor screamed as the metal stuck out a few feet through him.

"Ah noh rih!" Vilgax spat.

The Havoc Staff fell from Skeletor's fingers and landed beside the two. Daniela, remembering how easily the wizard had taken them down before, figured it would be in her best interest to get it away from the battle while she had the chance. She flew over to grab it and found herself face-to-face yet again with Megatron. His cannon pointed directly at her and glowed brightly.

And that's when Junior appeared. With one arm he scooped her up bridal style and with the other grabbed the end of the metal that held Skeletor and Vilgax in place; the end which Daniela now recognized as a hilt. It wasn't a large hunk of iron, she realized. It was a massive sword.

And with one circling swing, the sword cut through Vilgax, Skeletor, the wall that held them, and finally, Megatron and his cannon.

The two halves of Megatron flew away from each other before the build-up from the cannon finally backfired and exploded. Junior held his sister in front of him, using his body and the sword to protect her from the blast.

"Are you ok?" Junior asked Daniela as the wind from the explosion flew past his hood and through his hair.

Daniela would later blame the heat and redness of her face on the explosion and the sudden thumps of her heart (which until now she didn't even know she had in ghost form) on the exhaustion of the battle. At the moment though, there weren't a lot of thoughts coming to her mind as she stared up at her elder brother and into his strong heterochromatic eyes.

"I-…I-…"

"THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!" Manny yelled out, snapping his sister back to her senses. As he flew over to the two of them, Daniela quickly moved to get out of Junior's arm, facing slightly away from the two of them so they wouldn't notice her blushing.

"You alright, Manny?" Junior asked.

"Oh yeah." The ghost boy said, slowly building his confidence back up. "You know it'll take more than these three losers to put me down."

Junior just smiled and let him brag, as it was clear that his little brother was quite exhausted and his hype was probably the only thing keeping him from collapsing.

"So that thing's a sword?" Manny asked excitedly, some of his inner fanboy showing.

"Like it?" Junior smiled as he sheathed the massive blade on his back. "It's called Dragonslayer."

"Whoa…" Was all Manny could manage to say in his awe.

Daniela, partially hiding her blushing face behind her fan, said "There are those who'd say a weapon of that size is meant to compensate for something, brother."

Manny stared daggers at her for her comment but Junior just shrugged it off. "Not to the guy I took it from. Though I suppose that's mainly because he was a little slash-happy with it." He said. "Now…would you mind telling me what you two are doing here, with Scythe 2.0 nonetheless?"

"Manny here decided we should test our skills against some of the greatest warriors who have ever fallen and thus brought us here in hopes of fighting some Vikings." Daniela explained, quickly selling her brother out.

"Hey! This was your idea, too! Don't pin this all on me!" Manny retorted.

"I did no such thing."

"Did so."

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

Junior quickly interrupted their argument. "Okay, 1. Hel is the place where warriors go when they die of anything other than glorious battle. You're probably thinking of Valhalla. 2. Regardless of if you were thinking of Valhalla or not, you wanted to test your battle skills against people who died in battle? Really? And 3. That still doesn't explain why you have Scythe 2.0."

Manny and Daniela went silent for a minute as they looked back and forth between each other, questioning what they should tell him.

"Well…brother…" Daniela said hesitantly. "The thing is…in regards to Scythe 2.0 being out of the vault…we were told not to tell anyone outside the castle, under any circumstances…"

"Who told you that?" Junior asked skeptically.

"…Mother did." Daniela said.

Junior studied the two for a minute, taking that time to understand the situation. "…Alright." He nodded. "I haven't exactly been involved in what happens back home for some time, so I guess I can understand keeping me out of loop. And speaking of home, you two should probably head back there now. Hela doesn't exactly like it when people mess with her stuff, and considering I thought Dan had found his way in here after I saw all the beaten up souls, she definitely won't be happy with you two."

"Dan?" Daniela asked.

"No one you know." Junior said before instantly moving away from the topic.

"Not like you're one to talk, considering what you did to these three." Manny pointed to the remains of the villains.

"Unlike you, I actually have a job that concerns these guys." Junior retorted. He raised his hand upward and the remains of Skeletor, Vilgax, and Megatron were pulled towards him, breaking apart and reforming into his palm as three blue flaming balls of soul.

"Ah yes, we'd heard rumors from the guards that you'd taken up a career as a bounty hunter." Daniela commented. "Not exactly the most proper profession for one of royalty."

"Maybe not, but it keeps me busy." Junior said simply, the three souls floating gently in his hand. "These three have apparently been causing some trouble in Hela's realm, so she hired me to get them back under control."

" _And what a good job with them you have done."_

Daniela and Manny both jumped at the sudden voice, though Junior didn't react much to it. Before the three, through a gust of black wind and snow, appeared a woman, half of her body as beautiful as could be and the other half a corpse. Junior smiled at the woman's appearance and walked up to her.

"You saved me the walk." He said, presenting the souls to her. "As promised, three assholes for you to fuck with to your liking."

Hela smiled (half of her did anyway) as she took the souls from him. "As always, Grim Hunter, you have quite a way of phrasing things. But still I must thank you for a job well done."

"Well, you are one of my best customers, Hela. No way am I going to spare any quality when it comes to you."

With a wave of her hand the Goddess commanded the souls to leave her and fly off deeper into the realm. "As per usual, you shall be paid handsomely for your services, Grim Hunter. But first, there is a certain transgression involving your siblings that I must deal with." She said, staring venomously at the twins.

Junior quickly stepped between her and the twins. "Look, Hela, I know they're idiots but they're still family and I can't just let them suffer divine retribution. Do you think you could let them go just this once, as a favor to me?"

"They intruded into my realm, assaulted my property, and most importantly, injured Garmr, whom guards my realm's gates." Hela pointed out.

"Look, tell you what," Junior said calmly, trying to defuse the situation. "Any souls that escape because of this little incident, I'll do those as a freebie. That'll give you a little bit of a safety net while Garmr is recovering, something you wouldn't get out of simply punishing these two. Plus…you'd get the occasional pleasure of my company…" He said with a slightly flirty tone in his voice.

Hela pondered his offer for a minute. She then turned to him with a sly smile on his lips and said "Very well. I will not seek vengeance on your siblings. On one more condition."

"Name it." Junior said.

"You have to personally escort these two back to their home and inform your mother of what they did to irk me."

The smile faded from Junior's face. "…Dammit…alright, deal." Junior shook the Goddess's hand and she left a soul in it as payment.

"As always, a pleasure doing business with you, Grim Hunter." Hela said before walking off into her realm.

"Yeah, yeah…" Junior muttered before turning to the twins. "Alright you two, let's go."

Manny watched in confusion as Hela walked away. "I don't get it. Why would she make you telling mom on us part of the deal?"

"Because before there was a chance you could lie your ass off about almost causing an interdimensional incident and not get caught." Junior explained. "Now, with me telling her, she's guaranteed to know. And Hela knows that her wrath is nothing compared to Mandy's."

An audible gulp echoed off the icy walls of Hel.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Hey, hoped you liked this start to a new  Grim Tales story (with me murdering your and my childhoods). Sorry if these first two chapters feel a little slow. I just wanted to get some stuff set up properly for future chapters. The upcoming chapters after should hopefully flow better, so we'll see.

Sorry to disappoint anyone who likes them, but this story is not going to focus on the Phantom twins, but on Grim Jr. They will be involved in the story (one significantly more than the other) but the title of main character goes to Junior. Sorry.

In case anyone is curious, in this story Junior was 12 when the twins were born, making him 28 years old currently, with Minnie being 27, as she is a year younger than him. Doesn't really matter how old Grim and Mandy are as they don't age anyway.

The Phantom Twins look like they do in Grim Tales New Generation (which I highly recommend looking up on Google Images) as it is honestly one of the best designs I've seen for a grown up Manny and Daniela and because I suck at describing physical appearance.

Grim Jr meanwhile looks pretty much as he does in Afterbirth, with the noticeable addition of the gigasmic sword on his back, which, yes, he did get from Guts of Berserk fame. Pretty simple story of how that happened, but it's for another day. If you've never seen or read Berserk it's ok because it's not going to factor much into the story. All you really need to know about Dragonslayer is that it is a 6 ft. long 400 pound sword of pure destruction and badass and that I really, really wanted to give Junior a bigass sword because would you not?

* * *

Questions to ponder: None this time since this is just the first chapter. But I likely will have some ready at the end of chapter 2.


	2. Trouble at home

**Part 2: Trouble at home**

* * *

 **Lord Razer:** This story is taking some inspiration from Grim Tales Afterbirth, so while it'll have a few similar elements here and there it will not be following the same storyline. Doubt I could make that work anyway given that the characters here are older than they were in that story.

 **nightmaster000:** I'm going to say the 80's version because until just now I'd forgotten there was a 2002 version.

 **AMTT94:** To answer your questions in order: Hel is mix of the Marvel version and the one from myth.

Mandy will be a little better in this story than in Empire of Death. In that she did still have love and respect for her family, enough to be proud of Junior for beating her, but I did write her more coldly than I meant to. This time should be a little better, as Mandy is not the villain in this story.

Manny and Daniela, like the rest of the Grim family, will be featured very much in the story.

Daniela will have a few different kinds of love for Junior. As for how Minnie reacts to it, that's for much later in the story.

Yes, Chi and Mimi will appear later in the story.

* * *

Atop the jagged mountain terrain that surrounds the impenetrable fortress that is the infamous Caste Grimskull a portal tore open just outside the castle's main entrance. From this portal exited the land's eldest son and his two youngest siblings.

Junior sniffed the air. "Sulfur. Brimstone. And just a hint of lemon. Just like I remember." He commented as he surveyed the surroundings, taking in the sights that had not changed much since he'd last stepped foot here.

"I could have brought us back." Manny said. "I know how to use Scythe 2.0."

"I'm sure you do." Junior said, holding the sentient weapon in his hands. "After all, you used it to break into Hela's realm. Which is why I'm sure that you can appreciate the fact that I'm not going to give it back to you and risk you making me go back on my deal with her."

Manny ducked his head down a little bit as his older brother glared at him. Daniela interjected on her twin's behalf, though mainly because whatever punishment Manny would suffer she would go through as well. Also, while it was very clear that Junior was not happy about the situation he'd been forced into, something felt…off…about his frustration. He seemed more upset about having to come back here than he was at her and Manny trying to sack Hel.

"What Manny, taking out his less than eloquently manner of speaking, meant to say, I'm sure, is that mother made sure that we knew how to get Scythe 2.0 to open a portal home for us as soon as we retrieved it. So we could have done it for you so you'd need not strain your own power."

"It's no strain." Junior said simply, looking away from Manny and trying to calm himself down. "Even back when my powers could spiral out of control at any moment opening a portal from here to Malebolgia was easy as breathing (not that I breathe, mind you). Besides, I could use the exercise."

"You just killed three warlords."

"Technically they were already dead."

"No, I didn't mean that as an action in need of justification. I just meant that you dispatched of th-"

Junior then turned quickly between her words, his hand reacting in a flash as it grabbed hold of an arrow, just inches away from his face. Both Manny and Daniela were struck speechless while Junior just looked on in apathy at the attempted attack, tossing the arrow sharply to the ground.

"If you shoot more I'm just going to catch them, so you might as well get closer." He called out to the sniper.

At minute passed and then a shadow on the concrete started to get larger, as the assailant jumped down to their position from up high. The man landed before the three with a heavy crack onto the ground. Not due to his own weight, as he was a man of a very slender build, but of the force in which his spiked cudgel struck, likely in an attempt to show of its and by extension its owner's power.

"Intruder," Said the man pointing the weapon towards Junior's skull. "You are trespassing on the sacred ground that is my masters' home. Speak now the business you have here or prepare to learn the true meaning of pain."

Recognizing the man's voice and garb anywhere, Junior smiled and spoke without fear. "Still sticking with that old catchphrase, eh Charles?"

The blue-clad knight raised an eyebrow under his spiked helmet, confused as to who this intruder was that they would dare use his real name (or that he even knew what his real name was). After another moment his eyes widened in realization and he quickly fell to his hands and knees.

"Master Junior! Please forgive my impudence! I disgrace myself for not having recognized you sooner!"

"Charles, relax." Junior said, trying to get the head guard to calm himself. "Not going to get mad at you for doing your job. Though since when do you give people the opportunity to talk before taking a swing at them?"

Lord Pain stood back up from his position, giving a small bow as he holstered his trademark weapon back to his belt. "Of course, master. Under normal circumstances I would have cleaved your skull in without mercy or warning. But as I did see young masters Manny and Daniela I had assumed that they'd brought you with them. Something I also hoped that they'd have a good explanation for, as they know their mother has ordered a complete lockout to anyone outside the royal family."

"Lockout?" Junior asked in confusion, to which Lord Pain gave a nod in confirmation. Junior looked over to the twins, both of whom rubbed their arms.

"Again, mom didn't want us talking about what's going on here." Manny said hesitantly.

"Indeed." Pain said. "Now, my apologies for needing to ask this, master, but why have you now returned after so many years?"

Wanting more answers, but knowing that he was not likely to gain any from someone as hyper-loyal to his mother as Pain was, Junior simply answered "I have some business to discuss with my mother. Specifically regarding these two." He pointed towards the twins.

Pain looked them all over for a moment before saying "Very well. I shall bring you to her." He turned and open the front door for the three, leading them inside the castle.

Junior could not say whether he was surprised or not that the castle's interior had changed just as much as the outside since he'd been gone, which is to say not at all. Most of the portraits were still where he remembered them from his childhood and he could probably identify every skeleton servant they passed by name if he thought back long enough. In fact the only thing that really felt any different was that the castle didn't feel as big as it used to.

As Pain led them through the hallways the group started to hear the noise of someone walking towards them. Pain, seeming to know well who it was, did not deviate from their path, continuing on their way until they finally came across the person. The lord of the land (in name that is). The black robed master of Death, Grim.

"Ah, Manny, Daniela, you're back." He said, addressing the twins once he noticed the group. "I thought I felt a scythe portal open up. I take it you got back-?" He then cut himself off once he noticed who they were with. "…Junior?"

Junior gave a smile and held his arms out. "Hi, dad."

Grim's boney face widened into a smile and he ran up to his son and gave him a hug, which Junior returned. The two skeleton men patted each other on the back and then broke apart.

"Junior, my boy! It's been so long. How have you-?" Grim then took a moment to pause, realizing that he was needing to look up a bit to talk to Junior. "My word you've gotten tall since you've been away. You were just barely past my chin the last time I say you. Definitely my side of the family you're taking after."

Junior just gave a smile back. He'd figured out years ago that Grim was not his biological father and in truth Grim had probably suspected that he'd known this for a while. Still, Junior felt no need to dismiss Grim when he said stuff like this. It made it easier for him to think of Junior was his real son and it wasn't like Junior had ever known any other fathers.

Junior then froze. He stared straight past Grim to something behind him. Grim looked in confusion at his son until he heard the same noise that he did. The click-clack of heels hitting the floor.

All members of the group turned towards the noise, not a single one of them doubting who it was. Unsurprisingly to Junior, the woman who approached them had changed about as much as the land she held dominion over. Her long blond hair still reached down to her waist. Her black and red outfit was just as "modest" as he remembered. And her burning red eyes still emitted that strangely icy cold stare that had brought numerous enemies to their knees throughout her life. The only thing of difference about her was the thigh-high leather boots she wore in place of her standard pumps from Junior's memory.

"Junior." Mandy addressed him, greeting him as she would anyone else.

"Mand-…ahem. Mother." Junior coughed, correcting himself, though no one seemed to notice the slip except for Daniela. She couldn't help but notice it. Looking at Junior to avoid her mother's gaze, Junior actually seemed a little…nervous? This confused her greatly. She seen him take out three powerful villains single handedly and while their mother certainly had a more fearful reputation than those others, this was still their mother and it was her and Manny whom were in trouble, not him. What did he have to be nervous about? "Did you miss me-?"

"That sword better not be leaving scrape marks along my floor." She interrupted him, noticing how close the tip of Dragonslayer came to touching the polished linoleum.

" _That's also just like I remember."_ Junior commented to himself. "Don't worry. I've had a lot of practice using this. Dragonslayer doesn't cut anything unless I want it to."

Junior could see it in the movement of her eyes. She didn't care about the floor (well…that isn't to say that she wouldn't have decked him if he had messed it up). She had simply said that to gain any extra moment to observe the situation of the group. Her eyes went from Junior to the computerized scythe in his hand to the twins cowering behind him.

"Manny. Daniela." She spoke, causing the backs of both to instantly stiffen. "Why did Junior have to bring you back here?"

Junior felt some amazement at how quickly she'd caught on. He then gave a sigh. He could see the two working up the nerve to confess what they did and honestly he was sure that things would work out better for them if they were the ones to do so. Unfortunately, due to his deal with Hela, that wasn't an option.

"I caught these two running around in Hel." Junior explained to their parents. "Apparently they wanted to test their might against history's greatest warriors."

"And they went ta Hel for dat?" Grim asked in confusion. "I mean, even Valhalla wouldn't have been a much better choice because they're still warriors who died in battle-"

"Yeah, yeah. I already pointed out the holes in their logic." Junior said. "As you might have guessed Hela wasn't happy about her realm being blasted apart by two teenyboppers and the only way that she'd let them leave is if I personally brought them back here and sold them down the river."

The hall went quiet and all eyes went towards Mandy, as they all knew she would be the one to make the call.

"Junior. The scythe." She said holding out her hand. Junior handed Scythe 2.0 over. Mandy then stared at the twins. "I believe I need to have a talk with you two. Now."

Mandy turned and walked away, that being the signal for her youngest children to follow. Manny and Daniela hung their heads as they walked like they were headed for the gallows, and if they were anyone else but Mandy's children, that's likely where she'd be taking them.

"I do not envy them." Junior commented as he watched them walk on.

"Me neither." Grim said. "Though in fairness I've been put through one of her "talks" more recently than you have."

"Trust me, the memories are still fresh." Junior retorted, reflecting back to his childhood on events he'd rather forget. "Well…I should probably get going."

"What? So soon? But you just got back." Grim said, sounding a little disappointed.

"What can I say? The reason I left in the first place was because there's so much to see outside these castle walls. Besides, I did just kind of drop in and clearly you guys are dealing with some stuff of your own right now." Junior pointed out, gesturing his head a little towards Lord Pain.

Putting together what Charles likely told Junior (what little of it he knew the man was allowed to say), Grim said "Look, I'll deal with Mandy about this later. Right now I just want ta catch up a bit. Know how you've been since you've been away. Just take a walk with me around da castle. What do ya say?"

Junior looked back and forth between his father and Lord Pain, whom was clearly content with obeying the orders of either of his masters.

"Alright." Junior agreed. "I suppose a few minutes couldn't hurt."

* * *

The two Reapers walked along the hallways and passages that spread throughout the castle, lead both in and out of the home to the inner courtyards and gardens. News of his arrival must have spread fast as not one guard that they passed was surprised to see him. They simply stood, still as a statue as per their duties. But every now and then Junior could almost feel the empty sockets of the skeletal guards staring at him after they passed by. Watching him warily.

"So dat's what happened ta Griffith." Grim said as Junior finished his tale. "I'll admit I was surprised when I saw his name pop up on my list. Never thought anyone would ever finally kill the bastard."

"Yeah. That whole ordeal was a mess." Junior commented dryly. "If I'd known what I was in for I never would have done it. Still, the money was good and I did get this sword out of it. The fun I've had with this baby almost makes up for all that crap."

"Never really been one for swords myself." Grim said. "Guess it was just too mainstream for my blood. At least back in the day, I mean. These days everyone's got a scythe, or at least crap they're calling their "Scythes". Chainsaws and lawnmowers, good god, have some class."

Junior had to give a chuckle, his father's words sparking up memories from his early childhood, in which even back then Grim would rant to him and Minnie about all these damn new Reaping Organizations that kept popping up throughout the years and how they wouldn't know someone's soul from the bottom of their shoe.

Though the flashback of him and his sister sitting on their father's boney knee did remind him…

"I'm guessing Minnie hasn't come back yet." Junior said.

Grim, unsurprised that Junior would bring her up, shook his head. "No. She sends us letters every now and then, let us know how she's doing. But otherwise she drops by about as frequently as you do. We do get worried about her sometimes though (well, Mandy doesn't show it but I'm sure she does). Her letters never say where she is and she never has her phone on when we try to call her."

"She's fine, dad." Junior interjected quickly. "The two of us…we've met up a few times on my travels. Not for long though, as you can imagine. Things are still a little…awkward between us."

"Ah yes. I know a thing or two about unrequited love." Grim said, remembering how Minnie had always clung to Junior's arm when they were children in a show of protection and affection. "Someday I'll have to tell you about a woman I once knew named Gladys."

Junior stopped in his tracks, the name familiar to him. "Wait…wasn't that the name of that Billy kid's moth-"

"Ah bub bub bub!" Grim tried to shush him, having gotten so caught up in the conversation he hadn't realized what he'd said. "Aha…why don't we change the subject?"

"Alright...how about what's been happening around here lately?" He said, the sudden shift in tone surprising the Grim Reaper. When he saw that Grim was internally debating whether or not to tell him, Junior said "Come on, dad, something is clearly up. Scythe 2.0 isn't ever supposed to leave the vault and yet mom sent Manny and Daniela to get it back from who knows where. You've got the head guard and chief of security guarding the main entrance. And while most people wouldn't notice, I've lived around mom long enough to know that she's on edge, even for her. Something's happened."

For a moment Grim said nothing. "…Dat's definitely your mother's side of the family showing dere. We ain't called Boneheads for nothing." He commented. After another minute he sighed, finally giving in. "A few days ago…dere was a break-in into your mother's vault."

Junior's eyes went wide and he was struck completely speechless. Someone broke into the vault? The thought was something Junior could seriously not comprehend. The vault was where his mother stored her most valuable trophies. Items with some significant dark meaning to her or that were so powerful any one of them could be used to topple an entire nation or possibly an entire realm if one knew what they were doing. Mandy did nothing to keep knowledge about the vault's existence a secret. It was in fact the very idea that she had so many dangerous items under her control that kept many in line, fearing what she might do with them if provoked. And Junior, nor any of his siblings, were ever allowed to enter its chambers. Even now Junior realized that when he'd accused the twins of stealing Scythe 2.0, if he'd given it even just a second more of thought he'd have realized they couldn't have stolen it. To his knowledge the only person whom ever stepped foot into that vault was Mandy herself.

"What…what did they take?" Junior asked.

"We're not sure." Grim said.

Junior cocked his head in confusion. "Not sure…? What…was nothing other than Scythe 2.0 out of place?"

"Oh no, just the opposite in fact." Grim explained. "We're not sure how and we're not sure who, but there was an explosion that was set off inside the vault, while it was still locked. Every member of the family in the castle was accounted for and all the guards were where they should be. The cameras and sensors didn't detect any ghosts or spirits or anyone living or dead inside the vault. And yet somehow something got in there and set off an explosion that blew the top right off that vault, scattering the items inside all across the Underworld."

"Oh my god." Junior gasped. While he'd never been allowed into the vault and he only knew about Scythe 2.0 because Grim wrote about it in the journal he'd given to him, Junior had heard the rumors about what his mother kept in there and if even a single one of them were true the Underworld could be destabilized in a matter of weeks if those items ended up in the wrong hands.

"Now this is one of those good news, bad news situations." Grim pointed out. "The good news is dat not all the items that were in the vault left. Mjolnir didn't even budge and yer mother's got Horror's Hand so nailed down its practically part of the castle. Even better news is dat most of the items weren't hard to relocate, due to energy signatures, tracking devices, or other paranoid methods your mother put in place that have apparently now been justified. Your godfather has been away collecting the higher priority items with the troops doing the rest. Your mother sent your little brother and sister to collect Scythe 2.0 because it wasn't in an area with much danger and we needed to get it back fast. We've gotten a lot of them back already."

"And let me guess…" Junior said. "The bad news is that you don't know where the rest of them are that you haven't collected."

Grim nodded. "I'm sure you've noticed dat dere isn't a giant hole in the castle where the vault was. Your mother ordered dat to be fixed before anything else. Not so we'd have a place to put da items back into but to make sure that none of the other lords would realize this has happened. We've made a lot of enemies over the years and there isn't a single one of them whom wouldn't jump at the opportunity our weakness would provide. So we can't exactly afford to let them know that her majesty's feared vault has been blown wide open."

"Especially not when you suspect it's one of them who's behind it." Junior added. "That's another reason why mom sent uncle Nergal after the higher priority items, isn't it?"

Grim smiled at how quickly Junior had caught on. "We're certainly not ruling anything out."

The two continued their walk, starting to head back as Grim figured Mandy would soon be done scolding the twins. As they walked Junior pondered the information. In his travels he'd heard of and even met many people who wished his family harm, some of which even outright attacked him upon finding out that he was the son of Mandy. This had never been a big deal. His family had been attacked before and these instances were easily taken care of by the castle's traps or Death's many troops. It's something every Underworld lord has to deal with every now and then, something Junior had realized after he'd begun his career as a bounty hunter, often getting paid to take down someone one of the lords viewed as a possible threat or to help protect that lord's home.

But usually before these kinds of attacks there was at least some sort of warning that could be caught beforehand. Some word through the grapevine of someone with a grudge against one of the lords getting more aggressive lately. Some waves that are made by someone asking a few too many questions. Something Junior had learned by working in the depths of the Underworld is that sound travels fastest through scum, the people who'll sell out anyone and anything if they think they can get a quick buck out of it. But Junior had heard nothing of this attack. Which meant that whoever did it didn't need to ask around for information or go around buying or stealing weapons. Whoever it was either didn't need help or they've had all they needed for a long time, and Junior couldn't say which of these possibilities was worse.

Grim and Junior returned to within the castle, arriving just at the moment where a chamber door opened and Mandy and the twins came out. The two ghost children were in their human forms and looking completely traumatized.

"Boy, do I know that look." Junior commented as Manny and Daniela perked their heads up at his arrival. "So…how'd it go?"

"They'll be getting a much swifter punishment when our little situation is over." Mandy answered for them. "I'm guessing Grim just got done telling you all about it."

Grim's eye-sockets widened a bit in surprise. "How did you-?"

"I've lived with you for a long time, Bonehead. If there's anyone with knowledge of your weak points, it's me." Mandy said simply. "We'll have to have a talk about this later, but for now what's done is done." She then turned to Junior. "It's getting late. Are you planning on spending the night, Junior?"

This time it was Junior and the twins' eyes to widen in surprise, though theirs were full of more hope than his were.

"What? No. No. I just came to drop off Manny and Daniela. I was actually just about to leave." Junior said hurriedly.

"What? Why?!" Manny said with no hesitation. "Come on, Junior, I was hoping you and I could spar for a bit! I've got this really cool move I've been working on and Daniela is no fun to fight against because all she does is dodge my attacks."

Daniela looked at Manny in annoyance but strangely enough didn't say anything, as she found she also wanted her older brother to stay too.

Junior scratched his head nervously. "Look…guys…"

"I would recommend staying." Mandy said, catching his attention. "Given our increased security around here the guards have been ordered to shoot whatever they see outside the castle walls after dark."

"I doubt it would kill me." Junior pointed out.

"No but they'd certainly do their damnedest. And I'm not exactly going to give them orders not to because I'm not risking any more holes in our security." Mandy retorted. "You're free to do whatever you want. I'm just making sure you know what your options are."

Junior looked at his mother in annoyance and then to the hopeful faces of Daniela and Manny. Grim's face had the same hope on his features but also seemed to be giving Mandy a sort of funny look.

"…Alright. I guess I can stay for one night. Not like I really have to be anywhere." Junior sighed, giving in.

"Alright!" Manny cheered, his sister giving a hidden smile beneath her fan. He then grabbed Junior by the arm, dragging him along with. "Let's get to the training fields. I can't wait to see what you can do with that sword!"

"I am not using Dragonslayer against you!" Junior exclaimed as he did his best to keep up with his excited younger brother. Daniela followed close behind them, eager to see her twin get his ass kicked. "Manny, seriously, this thing can kill ghosts!"

As they both watched their children run out of sight, Grim turned to his wife. "What was dat?" He asked accusingly.

"What?"

"You know exactly what. It's not like Junior needs to be outside in order to open a scythe portal and even if he did, I don't and could have taken him wherever he wanted. So what's wit you making it sound like he had ta stay for the night?"

Mandy looked at him for a moment before walking past him without a word. Her attitude irritated him to no end but after a minute he came to a realization.

"You don't think Junior has something to do with this whole mess, do ya?" He asked her.

"You have to admit, it is a rather big coincidence that he finally comes back home now of all times." Mandy pointed out.

"Mandy, he's our son!" Grim defended.

"And?" She asked rhetorically. "This would hardly be the first time in history that the heir to the throne betrayed the people on it. Death should know that better than anyone."

"I think he made it pretty clear when he left to become a bounty hunter that he cares nothing for running a kingdom."

"Or, counterpoint, I'm immortal and you've never been alive so waiting for us to die so the throne is passed on to him isn't exactly an option. And it's not like I'm going to willingly retire."

"Don't you think that's a little paranoid?" Grim asked.

Mandy just gave him a blank stare.

"Right. Who am I talking to?" Grim sighed.

As the two walked on Mandy said "Look, Grim, like you said, he's our son. I'm not going to torture or interrogate him. I'm just keeping him here for the night for observation. We have cameras and guards everywhere. If he doesn't do anything suspicious then we have nothing to worry about."

Grim could find some relief in those words. But of course he'd known Mandy just as long as she'd known him and so he knew the other thought that was lurking in the back of her head.

"And if he is tied into this attack somehow, are you really ready to fight him?" Grim asked.

"It's been many years since the Halloweentown incident, Grim. My forces and tactics have gotten a lot stronger since then." Mandy said.

"So has he." Grim reminded her. "And that's not what I meant anyway."

"I know what you meant." Mandy retorted. "Like you I don't want it to come to that. But I imagine that unlike you, I've been ready for what might happen since the day he was born." And with that she walked away without another word, leaving Grim to realize he could very much use a drink.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Again, sorry about the slowness of these first two chapters. Chapter 3, if all goes as I'm planning it, should have something very significant happen in it, but that will be for you guys to see.

Also sorry about the lack of Minimandy in this chapter. She will be in the story, don't worry, but not for a while and her absence will be addressed.

Also I'm well aware that Grim HATED Billy's mom's guts in the original show and the feeling was mutual. However when you have a buff action figure version of yourself and a bikini clad doll of her that you play with in the bathtub and have them make-out, clearly there is something there that needs to be addressed (I believe it was the episode involving Cthulhu and prank calls).

 **QTP:** What remains missing from Mandy's vault? Who set off the explosion? Is Mandy right to be paranoid of Junior? Why was Junior acting weird around Mandy at the beginning? How thoroughly will Junior kick his little brother's ass?


	3. Frustrations

**Part 3: Frustrations**

* * *

 **Nikola the Einstein:** Hey, been seeing some of the reviews you've been posting on my stuff. Always happy to have a new reader on board and I hope the rest of this story will be good for you. In regards to Grim it is pretty clear in the real Grim Tales story that he at least knows about Minnie's feelings for Junior, commenting on how he's seen weirder. He might later see that Daniela is starting to develop similar feelings, but with how long Junior's been away I doubt he'd have any reason to suspect anything yet. And about how regular dads don't have to put up with this shit, oh just wait for what more he's going to have to deal with.

 **Rioludoodle:** Thank you, and good to hear from you again.

 **Brandon Storm:** Probably.

 **Lord Razer:** I don't know. I don't see Junior being as gentlemanly and dapper as Sebastian and that does count for a lot, so Junior might not be his type.

 **nightmaster000:** Right. In this timeline HIM chasing after Mimi and Jeff after they betrayed him worked out a little differently in this timeline. And in regards to Minnie, what she's been doing will come into play later in the story and I'll drop a few hints or allusions to it here or there. Probably through Junior since he's the only one who knows what she's doing.

 **DPSS:** I'd like to start by thanking you for doing the QTP. In my previous stories I think only one or two people ever even saw them. Not that I'm going to get mad about that, mind you. People read fanfiction for enjoyment, not homework. And you're right. There are a lot of ways this story could go wrong, this chapter being one of those examples.

1\. Well most of what's in the vault in this story is what was shown in the real Grim Tales story, so that'll give you some ideas of what got sent out. The only items that've been confirmed that are currently in the vault are Horror's Hand, Thor's hammer, and Scythe 2.0.

2\. Good theory.

3\. You are correct.

4\. This chapter should help answer that.

5\. Again, very correct.

Hope to see your posts again. I always enjoy reading what people have to say about my stories.

* * *

Junior groaned as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. He'd tossed and turned in his old bed for hours before finally just giving up and going for a walk, it being clear that sleep wasn't going to come for him tonight.

He walked through the hallways with no real direction. The guards on the night patrol gave him the same looks as before when he passed by but he was too tired to care and just kept on his way. It'd been a bit since he last looked at a clock but he imagined it was an hour or two after midnight at the latest.

As he was walking he paused and looked out the window, thinking he saw something. Squinting his eyes he spotted a tiny dim orange light on a nearby balcony. When he realized what it was he walked to the balcony's entrance, where outside he found Mandy, clothed in a pink bathrobe and smoking a cigarette. It must have been a sudden craving given that she wasn't using her usually holder.

"You kick yourself out of your own room when you smoke?" Junior asked as he approached.

Her eyes widened a fraction of an inch in surprise to his sudden appearance but otherwise she held together her usual demeanor. "I smoke because I find it relaxing, but having that smell cling to everything, especially at night, makes it a hard thing to do that when I'm not smoking." She explained. She then held out the open box to him, offering him one.

"Can't." He politely refused, tapping his chest. "No lungs."

Mandy shrugged and placed the box back into her robe. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Couldn't sleep." Junior explained as he leaned on the balcony's railing, enjoying the cold breeze from this high up on the castle. "I travel around so much that I'm not used to sleeping in a bed anymore. I usually just set up camp whenever it suits me and sleep there."

"Or check yourself into a brothel for the night." Mandy commented.

Junior's head jerked towards her, staring at her in stunned silence.

"…I have spies everywhere." Mandy elaborated. "Sending me reports on things in general though, not just you. Though they are certain to send their reports in quickly when they find my son ending up in the bed of another realm's ruling lady." She said this last part with what was her version of a slightly mischievous smirk. "You've become quite the little man-whore since you've been away. Something I'm sure in hushed whispers is said that you take after me."

"In my defense I've never slept with any woman who was married." Junior defended.

Mandy gave him a look.

"…any woman who told me that she was married…" Junior corrected, remembering well the reason he was not allowed back to the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Right…"

Junior coughed awkwardly. "Yes, well, speaking of all the spies you have tucked away in whorehouses and your enemies' homes, are they all still there or did you call back up a few of them to help keep an eye on me?" He asked, getting very much to the point.

"Figured that out already, did you?" Mandy asked as she took in a puff, seemingly unsurprised.

"I am used to needing eyes in the back of my head, both literally and figuratively." Junior said. "I can tell when people are watching me just a bit too much."

"You going to make a thing of it?" Mandy asked.

"Nah…" Junior said, looking out towards the mountains that surrounded their home. "It's understandable. Can't see myself doing any different if I were in your position. Besides, I know it wasn't me, so I've gotten nothing fear."

"You ever hear of the McCarthy era?" Mandy pointed out.

"You ever see yourself being dumb enough to want a scapegoat instead of the actual people who acted against you?" Junior retorted.

"Point taken."

Junior chuckled a bit about how casually she could talk about betrayal and plots against her. "So…any ideas about who did it?"

"A few." She responded simply. "One or two of them being past clients of yours, so you can understand why I'm not going to say anything more on that topic."

"That's fair." Junior accepted He remained silent for a moment after though, internally debating what he wanted to say. "Though that being said…I do have a few connections of my own around the Underworld. If you want, I can keep an ear out for anything regarding the attack. Maybe even find out who's behind it and help you guys take them out."

"For a price I'm guessing?" Mandy asked evenly.

"You think I'd charge my own family for my services?" Junior asked.

Mandy shrugged. "It's what I would do. I may put you and your siblings before a lot of other things but I am still a firm believer of "you get what you pay for". It was my motto for when I was an assassin and I'd like to think I raised you well enough to think the same way now that you're one."

"Bounty hunter/mercenary." Junior quickly emphasized. "Not assassin."

Mandy glared at him with annoyance. "Really? You're going to be one of those idiots upset over labels?"

"Yes, but for better reasons than you might think." Junior commented, peaking her curiosity. "Assassin implies that you only do the jobs where you kill the target. Bounty hunting and mercenary work are two fields with the most freedom for what odd-jobs I'll get hired to do and thus the most possible income. Killing is still an option. It's just not always economical."

Mandy blinked. "That's…actually very well thought out."

Junior smirked. "Well, I did have to figure out pretty quickly a way to make a living after I left home and the only work available for a sixteen year old boy in the Underworld was either bounty hunting or escort service. …Pretty clear why I chose one over the other."

"True. Though I imagine my spies would be sending me much more interesting reports." Mandy commented, deliberately trying and succeeding to get a shiver of disgust to run up Junior's spine. After taking in and exhaling another puff, Mandy commented "I will admit though…you…and the kind of stuff that going into this kind of work…I never could have seen it coming. Not even with Nergal Jr as your little idol. Sure you developed more of a spine after the Halloweentown incident (having both Nergal and Reaper abilities kicking in I'm sure didn't hurt either), but hunting people down, fighting them, even killing a good number of them…I'm still a little amazed that you were once the little boy who would cling to my ankle in terror every time something popped out at you."

Mandy then noticed the change in Junior's expression as she finished talking. His face became much more serious than it had been a moment ago and there seemed to be almost a bit of guilt dripping its way into his features.

"Well…if I'm being honest…there is a reason." Junior said slowly, almost like a confession. "And that reason is you."

"Oh?" Mandy asked.

"Yeah…but not in the way you're thinking." Junior said guiltily, but with a bit of darkness in his tone.

Before she knew what was happening Junior had grabbed her by the wrists, pushing them both up into the wall behind her, causing the bathrobe sleeves to slide down her arms, revealing more of her flawless white skin. Mandy's demeanor remained in its usual unusual calmness as the Reaper's eyes staring madly into hers.

"I take it you have an explanation for this." Mandy said evenly, though it was clear by her eyes that she was not one to enjoy being manhandled.

"No. Not a good one." Junior almost panted out, everything buried within him coming to the surface. "The worst, most selfish explanation there is. I want you."

His last three words hung in the air within the small space between them.

"…I got away as far as I could. But it was never enough. You never left my head. Every thought I've had about you for the last thirteen years, every moment I imagined being with you, but knowing that I'm not to have you, it drove me insane. And I resisted the urge to come back for years, because I knew that if I did return, I would make the worst decision of my life…"

His grip around her wrists tensed but Mandy was not fighting against him, not that he could tell that. The only part of her that he was focused on was her face. More specifically her eyes. Her famous burning red eyes, filled with more sin and hate than any demon or devil could ever hope to come close to. That that did not look at him with that hate. That did not look at him with anger or contempt. Not even pity. The way that her calm neutral eyes looked at him, Junior was sure he was only seeing them as he desperately wished to see them.

"So that's it..." Mandy said evenly, everything finally falling into place for her. "And this worst decision…were you right that you wouldn't be able to resist making it?" Junior didn't respond. Not that he needed to. "Well then, Junior, I have just one question for you…" She stared him straight in his eyes as she said it. "Do you really think you can have me?"

Junior's answer escaped his lips before he even gave it a thought. "I will."

"Oh?" Mandy then tilted her head forward, her lips coming just inches away from his ear. And into his ear she whispered just three words. Three words which sealed his fate. "Then prove it."

As the last word escaped her lips Junior's own met them, kissing her with great ferocity as his body pushed her further into the wall. His hands no longer bound her wrists, choosing instead to travel across the rest of her body. One placed itself underneath her thigh, trailing along the smooth bare skin as it lifted the leg up to wrap around his waist. The other hand found its way through her robe to her breast, cupping the mound of soft firm flesh with a rough squeeze, his thumb playing and feeling its way around her nipple.

Mandy's freed arms made their way around his neck and back, pulling him in closer to her as she kissed him back. This wasn't just for Junior. She was going to have her way with him too.

And with that Junior got bolder. His lips left hers and when for her throat, kissing and sucking on the white skin, leaving his loving marks along it. Her head tilted up with a moan as he did this, a moan that prolonged as he started to strip away her robe, along with his own clothing.

Before either of them knew what happened, he was inside her.

And with that moment of entrance, everything else in the Reaper's world just faded away. He didn't care that they were doing this out in the open. He didn't care if they got caught. He didn't care how much this selfish action of his would hurt his father or his siblings. He didn't care that the woman he now thrust himself into and whose lips he continued to kiss was at the top of the list of people he should never commit this act with.

All he cared about now was that the moment he'd long desired was finally here.

And with one more thrust, the eyes of both sinful lovers went wide, as the release finally came.

And then Junior awoke.

It took him a moment to remember his surroundings. He was in his old bedroom from when he was a child. The same black and grey color scheme that almost seemed to be a given in any Reaper's preferences.

Junior sat up in the bed, his mind slowly putting itself together again from its slumber. And when the dream was remembered, his hands cupped his face in sorrow.

"No…" He sobbed. He was not upset that the dream had not been real. His shame came from the fact that the dream itself had occurred at all. After all these years away and still nothing had changed. _"I thought I was passed this…"_

For several minutes he sat in silence on his bed, letting his guilt and shame attack him from the darkness, just as he had for several years since he'd first come to recognize his incestuous feelings for his own mother.

As the minutes ticked on, Junior knew he could no longer just sit there.

" _I have to go."_ He made up his mind, much more easily than he had when he'd left home the first time. Though his efforts in getting rid of his feelings had failed, he could still at least make sure that his family would not suffer from them.

Leaving his bed and redressing himself in his standard garb, he placed Dragonslayer back around his back before leaving the room as quickly as he could.

* * *

Junior rushed through the castle's halls. A scythe portal would be the quickest way out of the castle but his father would sense that and likely be awaken to investigate such a disturbance. And after the dream he'd just had, a talk with his father was more than he could deal with right now.

He'd have to fly out of the land of Death, which Junior was fine with as it was a skill he'd worked to perfect over the years and with his speed he'd likely be out of sight before the night watch would even be able to spot him. He just needed to a more enclosed area outside the castle where he wouldn't be spotted taking off. Later on he could give a call to his family to give some excuse for just taking off as he did. But for right now he just needed to get out.

He knew the perfect spot for what he needed: the area just below one of the horns of the giant metal head the castle sat atop of. It was taking him a little while to get there, as he was deliberately avoiding the area of the castle from his dream. As he turned another corner and was just a feet away from the room that would lead him outside Junior started to hear something.

Stopping in his tracks, Junior paused to listen, hoping it was just his mind playing tricks on him, as he was in no mood to deal with his family now. But he heard the noise again. The sound of a key being turned.

Peering around the corner Junior saw a single person unlocking the door he was headed to. They were of average height and dressed in all black, including a hood and a scarf covering their face so that Junior couldn't tell who it was. Not that he needed to at the moment. This person disguised themselves because they knew they were not supposed to be here. And given the very stuffed looking backpack the intruder had strapped to their back Junior could take a guess at what they'd been doing.

"Hey!" Junior yelled as he came out from behind the corner, alerting the intruder to his presence. It may seem like a foolish thing for a seasoned bounty hunter to do but Junior actually did it quite often, deliberately alerting his target that he was there. The suddenness of his appearance would leave them little time to react, causing them to panic and usually make one of three moves:

One, they'd fight him, usually if they were very confident in their own power or didn't know who he was.

Two, they'd surrender, usually if they did know who he was or if their entire plan was based on stealth.

Or three, they'd run, something Junior didn't like to admit he enjoyed when they did it.

The intruder's eyes widened when they saw him and booked it into the unlocked room, diving out the window. This brought an instinctive smile to the Reaper's face.

Junior dove out the window after her. Both beings slid down by their feet the face of the giant head the caste sat atop of, curving around the horn to get to the mountainous area below it.

The intruder, being ahead of Junior, got there first, and without even a second of hesitation, leapt off the edge.

And to Junior's surprise they did not fall down. Instead they kept on going horizontally, away from the castle as fast as they could.

"So…you can fly, huh?" Junior commented as he reached the mountain's edge himself, watching the fleeing perp already quite a few yards away. He supposed it wasn't that surprising. To find the intruder attempting to exit out of the same window he was going to must have meant that they knew about the same blind spot outside the castle but that the only way to exploit it was to be able to fly. Whoever this person was they were well informed. And of course with the intruder's head start on him this would make it more difficult now to catch them.

…But not by much.

From Junior's back his Nergal flesh spread out, forming two large red feathered wings. They moved ever so slightly, adjusting themselves so that Dragonslayer would not get in their way. Once he was sure he was ready Junior took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, taking a single step forward to fall of the mountain.

As the Reaper fell he moved himself until his head took point, descending into a nosedive, wind blasting past his face as the ground quickly approached him. Finally, until mere feet from the rocky bottom, his eyes burst open and his wings fanned out, catching the air and sharply curving his path, causing him to fly with great speed just above the ground, flying low enough to not be detected on radar and shot down by the queen's automated weapons but high enough to avoid the mines he was certain were buried for miles around the castle.

With the velocity his wings had redirected from his fall he was quick to catch up with the fleeing intruder, albeit a mile below them. Junior continued to glide in the shadow of the flying thief until he was certain they were out of the danger area surrounding the castle. He then pulled up, flying up towards his target. The intruder saw his approach at the last minute and dove to avoid him, causing him to fly right past. But this caused Junior little delay, as he simply preformed a midair loop and got himself back on target, this time with him approaching from above.

It was at this time that the intruder's previous two advantages had worn off. Their head start and superior air maneuverability meant nothing now that Junior was so close to them. As the Reaper's shadow slowly began to spread over the intruder's body, with his green eyes wide and glowing and his wings spread out to their fullest, the scene looked not unlike that of an owl in the seconds before it grabs its next meal.

With the Reaper's bizarre shape-changing abilities Junior's midsection split open into a wide toothy smile. The green jaws opened wide, numerous black tentacles slithering out of its maw and launching themselves at the intruder.

The intruder had little time to react and no time to escape. They were trapped by the tentacles, the multiple appendages spreading out to restrain the person by their arms, legs, midsection, chest, and forehead. As the intruder fought to free themselves the tentacles only tightened their grip, not letting their prey get away from them. Junior was careful to make sure that the tentacles did not crush the intruder, as he still wanted to get some answers from them. But the amount of tight squeezing he did allow gave him some very interesting information, given the feel of the intruder's body.

"So…you're a girl are you?" Junior said casually, though from admittedly an awkward position as he had his back and head bent back as he talked to keep his stomach mouth open. "And don't worry, I'm not doing this because I'm a pervert. I've done this kind of trap to a lot of my targets. You're just one of the few I'm not getting paid for. …Admittedly that could point to me being a different kind of prevent but I don't have to justify myself to some random thief. And speaking of which…" Junior reached forward to grab the intruder's backpack. "Let's see what your sticky fingers picked up."

Junior grabbed hold of the backpack, but the moment he did, in the blink of an eye, the intruder vanished.

"What the-?!" Junior stammered as his tentacles grasped empty air in confusion. He looked around, having no idea how she could have gotten free. But then he sensed it. Energy. Where the intruder had been there was a small mass of energy that she'd left behind. And that energy was moving.

Feeling around for it Junior looked in the direction of where the energy was going, spotting once again the black clad intruder flying away, only now miles further out of his reach than last time. Junior then realized what had happened.

"Kage no Bunshin using little bastard." Junior swore, though with an impressed smile. "She cloned up a decoy and I fell for it."

The tentacles receded back into Junior's body and the mouth closed itself off, restoring his body to normal. The advantage was once again hers. She had a greater distance between them and Junior no longer had the opportunity for another speed boost.

Still though, Junior flapped his wings and flew after her

"Let's see how many more tricks you've got left."

* * *

For miles on Junior chased the intruder. The castle was left behind several hours ago and the border between the Domain of Death and the other realms was not far away. Junior's speed had remained consistent throughout the chase but the intruder's had not. However she was flying it was by her own power, not the use of some sort of technology, and the drain it was putting on her from hours of nonstop travel was showing. Her speed had reduced greatly and her path was getting lower and lower. She did her best to compensate by flying between the mountains and rocks instead of above them in an attempt to lose him but still Junior was catching up and getting closer.

As the girl turned her head back to see him Junior could almost see the sweat glistening of her forehead and her soft red eyes being sent into a panic as she saw he was still there.

"That's right. I'm still after ya." Junior called out, deliberately adding to her fear. While Junior was certainly not happy that the castle had apparently been broken into he was somewhat grateful for the distraction. It helped to take his mind off his dream for a little bit and get him to properly calm down, relatively speaking. Right now there was nothing but him and his hunt, reminding him of the reason why he'd chosen bounty hunting work to begin with. He wasn't sadistic like some hunters he knew. He didn't enjoy the hunt because of the power it gave him over another being. No. For him the hunt was something of a break from everything else. Something to keep him distracted from the real problems of his life.

The intruder's face snapped forward, desperately pushing herself forward to gain any amount of speed she could muster. It wouldn't be long now until Junior grabbed her again and in her tired state there was no way she could create another clone to distract him with.

Finally she found herself caught, only much earlier than she'd expected and not by Junior.

To the shock of them both something leapt off one of the mountain edges and tackled the intruder, sending her plummeting straight down into the ground.

Following quickly after her to see what had happened Junior landed on one of the higher rocks that overlooked where she'd crashed down. The intruder managed to knock the creature that'd attacked her off of her, only to find an entire pack of the same animal start to emerge from behind the rocks and circle her.

"Oh!" Junior said with some amusement. "Ammits."

The creatures that surrounded the intruder looked as though they were a hybrid of three different species from the mortal plane, each consisting of the head of a crocodile, the front body and legs of a lion, and the rear body and legs of a hippo. The bizarre amalgamations snapped their toothy jaws at the girl, just waiting for her to make a move as they cautiously observed their prey to gage how difficult she would be to take down.

As the terrified girl stood completely still in the middle of the carnivorous beasts as not to provoke them into attacking, Junior called out to get her attention.

"They're called Ammits." He said with a slightly mocking tone. "Old family friend of ours, Anubis, used to let these things hang around while he was weighing hearts on the scale of Ma'at. They'd hang around for hours, just waiting for him to find a bad one so he'd let them eat it. It's given them a fondness for human hearts and by extension souls. Oh…and they haven't gotten much to eat since humans stopped doing mummifications. So as you can imagine they are notoriously hungry."

The beasts continued to circle until finally one of them leapt from behind to attack the intruder. She turned quickly, blasting the Ammit with a green ecto-blast from her enclosed fist. The creature was knocked back away from her but soon after stood back up, otherwise unharmed.

"Flight, duplication, and now ecto-blasts." Junior commented. "So you are a ghost. Wondered why your energy felt familiar. Well that just makes this situation doubly worse for you, doesn't it?" Both he and the intruder could see that the Ammits were getting ready to pounce again. "So which ghostly ga are you? Spectra? Ember? You look a little too old to be Box Lunch but they do say kids grow up pretty fast. You know what? Doesn't matter. Tell you what. You surrender right now and I won't let these guys go _Jurassic Park_ on your ass."

From the way that the intruder looked up at him it seemed that she was about to say something, but the Ammits attacked before she had a chance to. The beasts snapped and clawed at her, the intruder doing her best to dodge or intangible herself to avoid the attacks. She shot back those that she could but her blasts used up too much of the very little energy she had left. She only tried to fight because she was too exhausted to fly out. As the fight continued her intangibility began to fail, something she became painfully aware of when one of the Ammits took a big swipe at her back, tearing the backpack off her, ripping through her clothing and leaving a bloody green gash across her back.

The girl screamed in pain and Junior had to pause at it. _"Wait…that scream…"_

Another Ammit tied to snap its jaws around her waist, but she was able to dodge it in time. Though this left her open to the attack from another Ammit as it swiped its mighty paw at the girl's head. Fatigue caught up with her as she tried and failed to get out of the way in time, taking the full swing of the strike right across her face.

The impact knocked her to fall to the ground, causing her to spit up blood onto the hard stone floor through the openings in her scarf and hoodie that the claws of the beast had destroyed. She tried to get up but her body was far too tired and beaten to do any more. And sensing that their meal was weakened, the pack all attacked at once.

The girl's face turned slightly to see the face of her attackers just before what would be her final moments. And though it was only in a split second, Junior saw a flash of white hair.

"DANIELA!" Junior cried out in realization, ripping Dragonslayer from his back as he dove to save her.

The Ammits were fast but he was faster, cutting through one of the beasts before they'd even reached his wounded sibling. He landed between her and them, using the broad side of his sword to block the many claws and teeth and push the animals back. The Ammits backed up slightly, annoyed but cautious of the sudden appearance of this new enemy. When he was sure that all the beasts were watching and not yet about to attack him Junior drove his hand into the corpse of the Ammit he'd just killed, ripping out its soul as he withdrew his hand. He then crushed the ball of blue fire in his hand, its energy dissipating throughout his body. The Ammits backed up at the sight of this, but eventually gave a disgruntled growl before the pack turned and walked away, recognizing the presence of the superior soul eater.

Once he was sure they were gone Junior turned quickly back to Daniela, kneeling down to her and helping her sit up.

"Easy. Easy." He said gently as her body groaned from her many cuts and bruises. "Are you ok? Anything broken?"

Daniela needed a moment to adjust herself. "No. I…I don't think so." Her ghost form recovered from injuries far faster than her human form so the blood from her mouth had already dried up and the wound on her back was already starting to close.

Junior gave a small sigh in relief but continued to worriedly check her. "Jeez, Daniela, why didn't you say anything? You could have been killed. Hell, I could have killed you."

Daniela said nothing, her head looking slightly off to the side as to not look directly at her older brother, clearly feeling ashamed of herself.

Junior gave Daniela another minute before asking again. "Daniela, why were you trying to leave the castle?"

He asked this question gently and it was more than Daniela could bear. To have her older brother be so patient and worried over her when her stupidity had nearly made him responsible for her death.

"I wanted to try and find mother's missing items on my own." She confessed.

Junior look at her for a minute, not sure whether to believe her words or not. "Daniela, while I'm sure mom would appreciate if you found any, it's dangerous out here. Especially once you get outside the land of Death. You're not ready to face these things yet."

"Weren't you my age when you left home?" Daniela pointed out.

"Our abilities are not comparable, Daniela." Junior said, a bit more sternly. "My abilities nearly caused the apocalypse when I was eleven and it took me years before I left to learn how to control them properly. You're still learning what yours can do."

"What about big sister? Her ragdoll body is of a much frailer nature than even than of my human form, yet she also left, not fearing the danger you speak of."

Junior went a little quiet at the mention of Minnie. "Minnie's situation is…complicated. But she hasn't chosen the same life I have, nor the path you're trying to go down. So again, it's not comparable."

As Daniela went quiet again, Junior asked her "Daniela, what's this really about?" Getting her attention again. "I know I haven't been there for most of your life, but this rushing off into the world at large without a plan seems more like something Manny would do. So what's going on?"

Again, his little sister didn't answer right away, the shame on her face showing that she'd thought these exact words before Junior even said them. "…This is the second time you've saved me from certain death." She began. "And those haven't been the first time I've needed saving either. For years I worked to figure out all the different ways of using my abilities, as I believed skill and precision to be far more useful achievements than brute strength. My fights with Manny certainly made it seem that I was correct, as he could never once touch me and became easily frustrated and sloppy (well, sloppier). But as we got older and we battled those other than each other…that belief came into question. My abilities made it easy for me to avoid attacks and stall the enemy, but when it came to actually fighting them, more often than not my attacks wouldn't even get them to flinch and they'd keep coming at me. Whereas Manny begin to start taking down more and more powerful enemies, often with a single shot. His injuries would be far greater than my own but so would his victories. It wasn't long before I realized how greatly I'd fallen behind."

"You know, there is more to life other than fighting." Junior pointed out, slightly surprised that he was the one saying these words.

"But it is still a part of life!" Daniela unintentionally snapped. "Ever since I was a child I've dreamed of one day being a worthy successor to our family's throne. But each day feels like a further and further setback. Mother would not even have flinched at those wild dogs, nor would the villains have dared mock her." As her mind kept comparing her to the impossible image of her mother she nearly started to cry. She tilted her head downwards, so that the shadow of her face would keep the redness of her eyes from being seen and she did her best to make sure not a single tear fell from her face. "I am Daniela, born to the house of Grim and the daughter of Mandy. I know I'm supposed to be better than this."

Looking over his trembling sister as she did her best to keep herself composed, Junior thought over what to do. Finally he stood up. "When you decided to leave, was it a sudden urge or did you have it planned out?"

Daniela coughed a bit, clearing her dry throat. "I planned it. I've…I've thought about this for a while. It's just that Hel was the tipping point."

"So I guess that really wasn't just Manny's idea, was it?"

Daniela looked off to the side in shame, giving Junior's question all the answer it needed.

"I guessing you left some way of letting the family know what you're trying to do? So that they know you didn't just vanish without an explanation?" Junior asked.

Daniela nodded. "I left a letter, on father's desk. I figured he'd be the best person to know first, given he could break the news to mother in a way that would not anger her. I doubt he has seen it yet though."

Junior took a moment before nodding. "Alright. I'm going to call home and let them know what's going on."

As Junior pulled out his phone Daniela hung her head in acceptance, knowing her older brother was just doing what he thought was best for her.

Junior dialed the number and listened to the other line ring. As expected it rang for quite a while, as it was far too early for anyone to be up yet.

Finally, after so many rings Junior was surprised that he didn't get sent to an answering machine, someone picked up on the other end.

"…Do you have any idea what time it is?" Yawned the other end. It was his father, from the sound of it having just been awoken by the ringing phone.

"Hey dad." Junior said, feeling understandably uncomfortable hearing Grim's voice after his dream.

Grim woke up a little more at the sound of his voice. "Junior? It's four in the morning. Where are you?"

"About a mile or two away from the border." He answered. "I've been chasing Daniela here for about half the night."

"Daniela? Is she ok?"

"Yeah, she's fine. I just saw her as she was leaving the castle. She was trying to do what Minnie and I did."

"Oh." Grim said with some understanding. "Well…is everything alright? Do you need help?"

"No, we're fine. I just wanted to call you and let you know…" Junior looked over at his little sister, pausing for moment before sighing. _"I'm so going to regret this."_ He thought to himself. "Just…just wanted to let you know the situation so you guys wouldn't get worried. I'm on her trail right now. When I find her I'll try and talk her into coming back to the castle." He said, causing Daniela's head to perk up in surprise.

"Well…alright then." Grim said. "I'll let your mother know what's happened. And try to keep Manny from doing anything stupid when he finds out."

"Thanks dad. See you when I can." Junior said, hanging up the phone.

Daniela stared up at her brother. "You…lied to him. Why?"

Junior said nothing for a minute before answering. "…I wasn't always the shapeshifting, nearly unkillable soul eating badass with a giant sword that you see before you. When I was a child there was so much I couldn't do. So many things I was helpless against. The Halloweentown incident, with Oogie, HIM, and my Nergaling demon all trying to tear me open, is just the most memorable. And even after I got my powers I still needed saving, be it from Malebolgian demon by Spawn or from my own abilities by Minnie. …I know what it's like to be powerless against something far stronger than myself. And the only reason I was ever able to get better than I was is because I had people like Minnie to help me until I could stand on my own."

He stared straight at Daniela. "I still think you made a stupid decision in coming out here. But since just sending you home likely wouldn't change the reality of your situation by much, I'm going to try something different. I'm going to go back to traveling as I usually do, and if you want to tag along, just for a little while some you can get some idea of the real dangers of the world, I'll put up with you for a bit."

Daniela face brightened. "R-really?"

"Now don't think this is free ticket or anything!" Junior said sternly, though from the flux in his tone it could be seen that he didn't really mean it. "This will only be for few days, at most, and If you start to annoy me too much I'll drop-kick your butt straight back home through a scythe portal."

A smile burst across Daniela's face and her ran up to hug her brother, forgetting for just a quick second her ladylike composure. Junior was surprised at the sudden display of affection but patted her on the back and said nothing about it.

As Daniela started to get go of her brother her face then became very red as she came to a rather sudden realization.

"Brother…could you please turn around and hand me my backpack?"

"Why? What's in it?" Junior asked, having completely forgotten about it until now.

"…My clothing." She said, blushing heavily.

It took Junior a moment and then he too realized what'd happened. The Ammits' attack had left his sister's outfit in tatters and it was only her arms that held her raggedy clothing to her chest that kept it from falling off and leaving her exposed completely.

"Oh…"

The two then found themselves standing, red faces on both, in completely dead and awkward silence.

* * *

Grim yawned as he walked into the central security hub of the castle. It was the most technologically advanced part of the castle, with row after row of monitors, each occupied by one of the skeletal servants as they kept eyes on everything possible, from within the land to realms outside of it. And given their recent break-in, if there was anywhere Mandy would be if she was up at this ungodly hour, it would be in here.

Grim made his way through the dark room lit only by the light of the monitors until he finally came to the end, where his wife in her usual pink bathrobe sat in a padded chair, keyboard across her lap as she looked up at a slab of multiple screens, each showing a different location.

"Mandy…" Grim said to get her attention.

"I know." She stated without even turning around to see him.

"Know-?" Grim started to say before stopping himself. "Ya know what? It is too early in the morning for me to be surprised that you've tapped the phone lines. In fact, I'm going to be grateful fer it. Means I can go back to bed faster." As Grim started to walk away he noticed that some of the monitors Mandy viewed contained footage of Junior through the day in the castle. "I'm guessing dis hasn't exactly helped yer paranoia regarding Junior." He commented.

"He didn't kidnap Daniela or steal anything, if that's what you're thinking." Mandy said evenly.

"Dat's not what I'm thinking, though I am surprised to hear dat's not what you are thinking." Grim commented.

Mandy then tapped in a few keys on her keyboard, bringing up two video files for Grim to see.

"Daniela left of her own free will." Mandy said in reference to the first video, which was of her youngest daughter packing in her room. "You go to your office you'll find the note she left for you." She then turned to the other video, which showed Junior chasing the disguised Daniela out the window. "It seems that when she tried to leave Junior thought she was an intruder and chased after her."

"Odd. Why didn't he signal de guards? He could have caught her much more quickly." Grim wondered aloud.

"Because she was his target, not theirs." Mandy stated. When Grim gave her a look of confusion Mandy clarified "It's an assassin thing. You wouldn't understand."

"I would almost hope not in dat case." Grim commented before giving a sigh. "Can't imagine Manny will be much fun to deal with in the morning when he finds out. But we'll cross dat bridge when we come to it."

Grim wished his wife a good night and left the room, hoping to catch at least a few more hours of sleep.

Once Grim was finally gone Mandy waited another minute before pulling up two video files she'd been watching before her husband had entered. One was of Junior hanging up the phone and turning to talk to the sitting Daniela. The other was of Junior slowly waking up in his old room before slowly placing his face into his hands.

"Hmm…" Mandy went as she pondered.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Sooooo…how many of my readers do you think I've lost because of this chapter? Can't say that I wouldn't understand why.

So here's the current timeline: Junior realized his incestuous feeling for Mandy when he was about 15. He left home at the age of 16 because he couldn't take the guilt and temptation anymore. And Minnie left home about a year after he did, when she was about 16.

Now, I suppose this won't be a big surprise to anyone that along with Afterbirth the other inspiration for this story was Raging Demon Reaper by Akumakami64, wherein he also has Junior dealing with incestuous feelings towards Mandy. It is a very good read and it did inspire me to give my own take on a story with Junior having his own Oedipus complex in contrast to his sister's well known brother complex. Again, while I'm using aspects of Afterbirth and Raging Demon Reaper, I will not be copying or giving my own version of the same story. They did a good job with the story they wrote and I should stick to writing my own thing. I just wouldn't feel right about not giving credit where credit is due, especially when a lot of other Grim Tales writers on this site have been very supportive of me.

Anyway, my view on incest (in stories anyway) is that if you're going to have it in your story then it should be addressed for what it is and not just pushed to the side like it doesn't matter (unless it is a full on lemon, in which case the audience pretty much already knows what they're getting into). That's why I like Junior and Minnie's relationship, because her feelings are addressed and part of the plot, whether or not Junior feels the same way. And that's how I'll be writing Junior's lust for Mandy, as it will be one of the many things the Grim family will have to deal with throughout the story.

So anyway that's my excuse for writing a story where the main character wants to bang his mother. Hopefully I'll still see you all in the reviews of the future chapters. Regardless, I do thank you for reading.

P.S. In regards to Junior and Manny's little sparing match, don't worry, it will be part of the story later, so you will get to see/read it.

 **QTP:** How will Junior's family react should they eventually discover his incestuous lust for Mandy? Has Junior made the right decision in lying to his family so that Daniela can travel with him for a bit? Why did Mandy not tell Grim about the other two videos? How upset will Manny be when he finds out that his twin sister is on an epic life-changing adventure the likes of which Toph Beifong has never seen (I swear that was not a blind joke when I first wrote it)? And did I really just pull a season nine of _Dallas_ or was there something more to Junior's wet dream?


	4. Welcome to my world

**Part 4: Welcome to my world**

 **Lord Razer:** I haven't watched much of  Game of Thrones so you'll have to correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Jaime Lannister was in an incestuous relationship with his sister, not mother. I mean either way it's messed up and created what I understand to be the most hated fictional character in years Joffrey. And speaking of messes up, don't worry because I (being also slightly messed up) was planning on give Junior and Daniela a moment when I first started writing this story, not to mention what'll happen when Minnie enters the picture.

 **nightmaster000:** Glad to hear you think so. I was really afraid the idea would turn a lot of people away from the story so I am glad to hear that you liked the twist. As for Minnie she will come into the story later, and while I won't say whether or not she already knows, when she does enter the story her feelings regarding Junior's feelings for Mandy will be made quite clear.

As for Junior having any kids he doesn't know about, it's not likely given that Junior, even with his Nergal flesh, is still a creature of Death, not meant to give life, just take it. So if he wanted a kid, which he doesn't because his life is hectic enough as it is and he wouldn't feel right bringing a child into all this, he'd have to try very hard to actually impregnate a woman.

 **DPSS:** Yeah, sorry about that. If it's any consolation the idea of Junior lusting after Mandy wasn't created just for the sake of perversion. It will be part of the plot and Junior will be dealing with these feelings quite a bit. As for Minnie what she's doing will be revealed later, though I will say that she's able to protect herself and magic is slightly involved. Heck, even Junior knows some magic and he'd admit to not having the patience usually for it (admittedly it is just the one spell and technically it's not even that). As for your answers:

1: Pretty accurate overall.

2: Exactly right. Plus it's not exactly like he's been around much for either of his youngest siblings and does slightly miss being an older brother (one of the few normal family things he can actually be apart of).

3: Sink or swim definitely describes Mandy. I imagine the exception to this would be whenever their decision goes against her or gets in the way of what she wants. She does care for her children but she is still Mandy.

4: Yep.

5: Neither have I. Dallas is just an old TV show that was well known and mocked for the "It was all just a dream" plot, where one of the main characters died, an entire season's worth of stuff happened in the aftermath, and then one episode the character's wife wakes up and sees that he is still alive, making his death just something she dreamed of, meaning nothing that happened in the episodes after his death mattered in the slightest because it was all just a dream. It is an idea that is very hated by people. And with Junior dreaming about him and Mandy, my question is did I really pull the hated "It was all just a dream" card or was there more to it than being just a simple dream?

 **Brandon Storm:** Yeah, I don't blame you. But still thank you for giving this story a read in the first place and hopefully I'll see you around in another of my stories. Take care.

 **AMTT94:** To answer your questions: yes, there are real reasons for why Junior feels the way he does. They will be revealed later, as will Minnie's reaction to Junior's feelings when she enters the story. Dan Phantom will be in story (kind of have to since one of his kids is a main character). And in this story's continuity Mimi never tried to break into Mandy's vault. The timeline goes right up until the "What about Mimi?" chapter of the actual Grim Tales comic and then diverges into its own history. And don't worry, Junior's problem will be treated seriously. There's nothing more he wants than to not feel the way he does.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Ah, always nice to hear from you and your pun based humor. More so I'm glad to hear that you liked the chapter, even with the slightly twisted twist. And don't worry there is a reason why Junior feels the way he does and you could definitely call it an obstacle. As for the Ammits, the original Ammit comes from Egyptian mythology as a creature/god that eats the hearts that are too heavy with evil to be raised by the scales of Ma'at and I thought that'd be a perfect creature to just have roaming around the land of the dead (took some liberties making it a pack animal since in the myth there is only one Ammit).

* * *

 **Chapter start:**

Junior and Daniela walked along the rocky path that soon turning to polished cobblestone, as they made their way into the small town that laid along the border. It was a deceptively nice looking town, all things considered. Slanted red tiled roofs. Spotless green tinted windows. It was a very pleasant medieval architecture meets modern times mix, with the older aspects being slightly more dominant. Unsurprising honestly. You'll never find a greater mix of cultures than in the land of the dead, but that doesn't mean it likes to change that much over time.

They walked in silence for a bit as they passed by numerous shops and buildings when Junior finally had to say something about Daniela's noticeable pouting.

"You're not still mad about it, are you?" Junior asked.

"Those beasts ruined nearly all my clothes." Daniela moaned.

"Yeah, but you still got that outfit left. Hell, you look just like you did when I found you in Hel. What's the problem?"

"The problem? Brother, I have nothing else to wear! I will be stuck wearing this same filthy garment for who knows how long until I can find more clothes that fit. Perhaps days or even weeks after today! Who knows what kind of disgusting build-up will occur during that time?"

Junior shrugged. "Honestly, Daniela, I think you're overacting. Nobody is going to judge you for a little bit of dirt and mud out here."

Junior then noticed that Daniela started looking over his own outfit after he'd said that.

"Hey, I didn't say never clean it." Junior defended as his little sister continued to give him that look of accusation. "…Look, if you're really that broken up about this maybe we can go through one of these stores after we're done in the bar."

"Bar?" Daniela questioned, this quickly gaining her attention as Junior had not mentioned before where they were going.

"Yeah. You said you wanted to help find mom's missing items, right? Well there's this bar that I stop by every now and then that might be a good place to start. RPG rules and all that."

"What's an RPG?"

Junior stopped in his tracks, turning to her. "You…you don't know what an RPG is?"

Daniela shook her head.

"A role-playing game? You know, questing? Leveling up through experience points? Mute protagonists often with red or blue hair?"

The blank confused look on Daniela's face showed that she honestly had no idea what he was talking about.

Junior just stared at her. "…What do you and Manny do all day?!"

"Mostly study or train to use our abilities." Daniela explained.

"That's it?"

"Yes. Well…that is when we're not fighting each other." Daniela hesitantly admitted.

"Hrm." Junior muttered, getting back to the path. "Suppose I don't remember my childhood being much different. Though the fights Minnie and I had weren't very physical."

"I don't think I recall you and big sister ever fighting at all." Daniela commented.

"You were four when I left, Daniela. Trust me, Minnie and I had plenty of issues between us to fight about." Junior said, noticeably not looking at her as he said this.

"You could have fooled me." Daniela commented as she continued to follow him. "Big sister never had a single bad word to say about you. …Not even after you left." She muttered. Junior couldn't help but notice the slight bit of distain in her voice as she said that last part. It was so slight that she probably didn't even realize how she'd said it, but he supposed Minnie was a bit of a sore subject for the both of them, though he imagined for different reasons. Thankfully this was not something he had to address at the moment, as they'd finally arrived at their destination.

"Here we are." Junior said, changing the subject and snapping his sister's attention forward. The building they faced looked basically the same as any of the others, albeit slightly more run-down in appearance and old style western double doors in place of the metal sliding ones on the rest of the stores.

" _The Last Resort_?" Daniela read off the bar's neon sign hanging over the door.

"Yep." Junior said. "This is the second one. The first used to be in the living world but turns out it's not a good idea to build stuff on Mars. At least not if you need to breathe. But give the owners credit. Not everyone can just set up shop in the Underworld after all that."

"Wait…Mars?" Daniela quickly twisted her head to him.

Junior smirked and opened the doors.

The inside of the bar was only slightly less dingy and dirty than it was on the outside and had significantly less light quality. Booths lined the edges of the building with the bartender's counter lying far in the back and easily the most well-lit section of the bar. Round wooden tables filled out the rest of the placed, scattered randomly across the creaky wooden floor. There was a low hum of chatter from the many patrons seated across the bar, mixed with the clacking of glasses and the music coming from the jukebox close to the doors that sounded suspiciously like _Soul Bossa Nova_. All in all, it was basically what one would expect a bar to look and sound like and thus was not what caused Daniela to go wide-eyed.

In her studies, like with her siblings, Mandy had made sure Daniela was aware of all the species that naturally make their home within the Underworld. Quite a few of them Daniela could even recognize right now. Vampires, werewolves, Franken-weasels, demons, ghosts, swamp-things, platypus bunnies, warlocks, and so on. It was the creatures that she didn't recognize that got her attention. Things with long necks and scales. Things short, muscular, and furry with pointed ears. Fish-men clearly not from any oceans she'd ever heard of in her studies. Red and green colored waitresses and dancers with three eyes (and apparently three of a few other things too, given some of the male patrons' excitement). It took Daniela a few minutes to work through her shock before she could even say anything.

"Th-…those are…"

"Aliens?" Junior finished for her. "You betcha." He said with a smile. "Welcome to _The Last Resort_. Biggest hive of supernatural and extraterrestrial scum and villainy this side of Mos Eisley."

Daniela gave him another blank look, same as before.

"Oh come on! Even people who've never seen _Star Wars_ know what that is!" Junior exclaimed. "Urg. Look…why don't you go find us a seat? I'm going to go check the board and see if there's anything new up."

"Wait! But I-"

But it was too late, as Junior was already making his way to the end of the bar, leaving Daniela standing paralyzed by the entrance. Noticing that some of the patrons were starting to stare she quickly decided to move away, not wanting to draw attention to herself in a place like this.

As she made her way around the floor, searching for an empty table or booth she couldn't help but feel incredibly out of place and not just because she was one of the few ghosts in the building. She was basically a toothpick in comparison to a number of the patrons, even the women, as there seemed to be a few literal amazons in the mix, with muscles bigger than her head.

" _I wonder if this was big brother's plan when he said I could come with him."_ Daniela pondered as she held her arms close to herself, careful not to bump into anyone. _"Take me here to scare me out of leaving the castle again."_

Unfortunately Daniela had been so worried over bumping into the sitting patrons that she paid no attention to what was in front of her, causing her smack face first into a very large and heavily built being.

Literally heavy built it would seem, as after Daniela shook herself back to her senses she saw that the being she bumped into was made of metal. Orange metal, strangely enough, though the joints and thighs of the machine were composed out of grey colored titanium by the look of it, connecting to massive orange legs and wide forearms that would put Popeye to shame (if she knew who that was). At the top of the robot's 10-foot stature was its pointed cylindrical head, which turned a full 180 degrees to cast its gaze down at the cowering teenager who just disturbed it.

"I-I'm sorry." Daniela quickly apologized. "I-I should have been watching where I was going."

The robot turned the rest of its body to face her. The biggest part of this machine was easily its chest area and now Daniela could see why, as this section of the robot's body was designed to look like the frowning face of a jack-o'-lantern. The openings that made it allowing her to feel the full intensity of the blazing heat coming from the robot's core. The robot's slanted yellow eyes focused in on her, making Daniela sure she was about to be vaporized. But then it simply tilted its head back up and walked away from her without a word.

Daniela stood motionless in the middle of the floor, daring not yet to move as if she were standing on a landmine, completely shocked that she was not dead.

She shook herself back to her senses, quickly moving back to finding a table, hoping the sooner she found one the sooner her brother would return to her.

* * *

Junior approached the bulletin board near the back of the bar. Even from a distance one could see there was not a single bit of unused space, with wanted posters covering the entire thing. While he didn't like to stop in here too often given how close it was to home he had to admit it was the best place for finding new or possible future jobs. He supposed the logic of it was that enough dead people pass through here that you get plenty of eyes out for whoever or whatever you put the bounty on.

At the moment there appeared to only be one other person at the board. A black human male in an overcoat and sunglasses, cradling the sniper rifle in his arms like a baby.

"Morning, Benny." Junior said as he stood beside him.

"Junior." The assassin greeted, his eyes still searching through the posters.

"Haven't seen you around in a while. What've you been up to?"

"I was in the mortal world helping an obsessed fangirl kidnap an internet reviewer she wanted to be her boyfriend." Benny said, all with a completely straight face and tone.

"Huh. So how'd that work out?" Junior asked.

"She's now dating a man named Devil Boner."

"…So step up? Step down?"

"She's got me on speed dial regardless." Benny stated.

"Ah." Junior said, getting the idea.

He turned his focus to the board. Most of the posters on here he already had copies of, just in case he stumbled across any of them. As he scanned for any new ones he spotted a reprint. It was of a ghost with flaming white hair and a small beard to match. The presence of his face on the wanted posters was nothing new. However, the higher number in the reward section was.

" _Bounty went up again."_ Junior commented to himself, reading in the info section about how the ghost had recently pissed off the queen of the Twilight Realm. Junior gave a small chuckle. _"Dan, one of these days you're going to make it very hard for me not to bring you in. At least not if my wallet has anything to say about it."_

Junior continued to look through the posters, not finding much in need of his attention. But just at the moment he was about to leave he took notice of a certain poster. In was not a "wanted" poster but rather one of the few "missing" posters that littered the board. While not as common there were plenty of bounty hunters who had no problem taking on a missing person job, so long as the money was still good. But this poster…it was of Mina Harper, an eternal child due to being a vampire and ward of Vlad the Count. She'd been missing for over a year and the Count had placed a very high reward for her safe return. Junior had glanced over it at first because he'd seen it before. But what caused him to look back was the realization that it shouldn't still be there.

"Hey, Benny, what's the deal with the Mina Harper posters? I thought Constantine or Blade or one of those guys took the job months ago."

"They did." Benny replied. "They couldn't find her."

"You're kidding me." Junior said disbelief. "Those guys are like bloodhounds when it comes to this kind of work. Sometimes literally. How could they not find her?"

"I don't know and it doesn't make things look good for me either." Benny told him. "I've been trying to pick up on the trail of Youngblood for a while now and haven't turned up a thing."

"Youngblood? The ghost kid?" Junior asked.

"That's the one." Benny nodded. "It seems whoever is doing all these child kidnappings is doing a pretty good job at it." When he noticed Junior looking at him in confusion, he said "You…have heard about the kidnapping, haven't you? It's been in all the papers."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard about it. I just…didn't think they were this bad." Junior said as he now realized that all the missing posters were of the children of the Underworld.

"Yeah. It's times like these that make me glad I don't have any children down here." Benny commented.

And at those words Junior's mind went to Daniela. He knew she shouldn't be in any danger as she was outside the age range for these kidnappings (the physical age range anyway, given that Mina was supposed to be in her forties). But still, he couldn't help but worry, especially since he'd brought her out her, and quickly turned to leave the board and find her.

Thankful it wasn't hard for a Reaper to find a ghost in a crowd if he knew what he was looking for and quickly spotted his younger sister sitting at one of the round tables close to the bar's edge.

And there was someone standing right next to her.

Junior tensed, prepared to draw his sword and any other weapons he might need, until he got a little closer and recognized who it was.

Standing, with one foot up on a chair as he talked to Daniela, was a skeleton, just barely about Junior's own height, wearing a very old and faded brown cowboy outfit with a hat to match and a red scarf wrapped around his neck. Junior had met the man before, though under better circumstances, for even from where Junior was approaching he could tell that the man was hitting on her.

"So…what do ya say?" Django flirted with her.

Daniela's face was incredibly red from the man's offer and the only thing that kept her from completely flipping out on him and calling him a disgusting pervert was that she did not want to attract more attention to herself.

"I…appreciate the offer…but I am already here with someone else." She said, doing her best to be respectful and let him down gently."

"And I bet he wouldn't mind you going home with someone else." Django smiled, not backing down so easily.

"Ahem." Junior interrupted from behind Django, much to Daniela's relief.

Django turned, surprised to see the Reaper. "Oh! Hey Junior. Long time no see." He greeted friendlily. "Look, I'd love to catch up, but right now I trying to…" He cocked his head over at Daniela. "You know…"

"That's my little sister." Junior pointed out, folding his arms and putting on his best protective older brother face.

Django looked back and forth between the ghost girl and the Reaper. "So…you got first dibs or something?" He asked.

"Django…" Junior warned.

"Kidding. Kidding." Django said, trying to ease the tension. The skeleton then sighed. "It's probably for the best anyway. I need to get back to searching."

"Searching?" Junior questioned.

"Aye. My abuela, Sartana, is missing." Django told him.

"Lot of that going around." Junior commented, thinking about the missing children.

"Yeah, but this one makes sense. My grandmother has had a bounty on her head since the day she plucked her first guitar string. Figured I'd check here first to see if anyone's collected the reward yet. You bounty hunters like keeping track of what the other guys have bagged."

"Can't say I've heard anything." Junior said honestly. "Though I am willing to keep an eye out for you. That is if you're willing to pay."

Djanjo chuckled at that. "Well, thank you for that offer of extortion, but I think I can handle things pretty well on my own. Personally, I'd prefer it that way."

"I didn't know you and your grandmother were so close."

"Eh. It's hit and miss." Django shrugged. "However, whoever took out Sartana also has her mystic guitar and that's something I cannot allow to fall into any wrong hands (other than my own, of course)."

"Well, good luck to you." Junior said, bidding the man a farewell as he sat across from his sister.

"Thanks. Oh. And kid…" He said, addressing Daniela, clearly showing that he hadn't even learned her name yet. "I was willing to risk incredible mystic power slipping through my grasp just for a chance to have you jump my bones. So trust me, this little event is something you should take as a compliment." He winked at her.

"Django…" Junior said sternly, making it clear that this was the final warning he was giving him.

"Alright, alright, I'm going." Django said as he walked away, leaving to ask others about his grandmother's whereabouts.

"Quite the interesting friend you have made since you've been away, brother." Daniela commented dryly.

"Eh, he's not so bad once you get to know him, though I have told him he needs to work on not coming on so strong." Junior said as he adjusted his seat.

"How would that even work anyway?" Daniela asked as she watched Django move around the bar.

"That is not a conversation I'm going to have with you." Junior stated very bluntly. "It was bad enough when dad had to give that talk to me. All I can say is thank the gods for polymorphic Nergal demon flesh."

Daniela gave a small giggle at her older brother's uncomfortableness, though her laugher was soon silenced when something big, grey, and round approached their table. It was the same height as she was and over three times as wide, with, as far as Daniela could tell, no eyes. She feared at first when she saw the creature put out what she thought was a weapon at first, but soon realized it was a notepad and a pen.

"Grim Jr?" The creature said in a voice that was surprisingly feminine and slightly southern sounding. To Daniela's horror the creature literally grew in a set of eyes from its previously blank forehead. Three eyes to be exact, each of a different color. "Oh! Junior! Baby! You do not stop by here often enough for my liking! Where you been, sugar?"

"Hey, Debbie." Junior greeted her with a friendly smile. "How're the kids doing?"

"Oh, you know those five. Still digesting."

"Five? You sure? Because it looks like you only got one or two in there."

"Oh ho! Junior, you sweet-talker!" The alien modestly waved his complement off with a laugh. "What can I get for you both today?"

"Cyanide and Happiness, leave the bottle, and a glass of milk." Junior said politely.

"I'll have that right out for you." Debbie said as she finished writing it down and walked to the bar counter.

Junior watched as the alien waitress left, but soon noticed the blank nervous stare Daniela was giving.

"You ok?" He asked, startling her back to her senses.

"W-what? Oh, yes. Yes, I'm…I'm fine. Just…just feeling a little…"

"Overwhelmed?" He finished for her. When he saw that she was about to protest his choice of words, he quickly followed up with "Relax. It took a bit for me to wrap my head around it too."

Her brother's words eased her tension a little bit, but she still felt somewhat anxious. "But brother, how can there be so many alien beings here in the Underworld?" She asked with a hushed voice as to not antagonize the surrounding patrons.

"Well, you met rustbucket and tentacle-face back in Hel, remember? It's pretty much the same story with a lot of these people." He answered with a shrug. "Aliens come to Earth. Some of them die on Earth. And then dad drags their butts down here, assuming some god or demon hasn't taken an interest in them first. Basically you land on Earth then Earth's Underworld gets a claim to you."

"Then…by the way you say that…are there Underworlds for other planets?" Daniela asked.

"Oh yeah." Junior nodded. "One thing dad always told me that while he loved his job you could not pay him enough to get him to collect the dead for the rest of the universe. Said it was bad enough when he had to cover the Martian Reaper's shifts there for a bit. That's how this place ended up here." He explained, gesturing to the establishment.

Daniela blinked, her worldview having just been so suddenly expanded. The studies their mother made she and Manny go through made it clear to her that aliens exist. She just hadn't realized how prominent they were when it came to the afterlife realms.

"This is all quite a bit to take in." Daniela admitted.

"Trust me, you'll see far freakier when you travel with me." Junior smiled. "Speaking of which, since we are traveling together you should probably become familiar with some of the other bounty hunters that work around these parts. Might need you to play lookout for me one day and warn me if they're coming to take my target."

"Alright." Daniela said, listening intently, eager for a future opportunity to prove herself.

Junior looked over the bar, searching for any other hunters in the immediate area. "Alright…you see the red guy with the mummy taters wrapped around himself?" He asked, pointing. Daniela looked over and indeed saw the man sitting at another table, talking with (or more accurately being talked to by) a small cat looking creature completely covered with bandages. "That's the Scorcher." Junior explained when she turned back to him. "As his name would imply he's a pyromancer, from the Fire kingdom, most suspect. He prefers more hitman based work. You know, stuff he gets directly hired for. He's not too bad of a person to deal with. He's just very dedicated to getting the job done and has even been known to turn on his employers if he thinks they're an obstacle to his work."

Junior scanned the bar again. "The cowboy with the half melted face? That's Jonah Hex." He pointed. "Big bounty hunter from the old west. He's basically just human but the old timer's still got some moves. Overall probably one of the most trustworthy hunters down here (relatively speaking) but apparently he's hung with a few superheroes in his day so he keeps getting brought back to life every now and then to deal with their remaining crap."

"The guy he's talking to in the green armor? That's Boba Fett, a big time bounty hunter from the galaxy he came from. That's where he died too, but due to some bureaucratic nonsense that went on in their Underworld, something something dark side and balance, and holes in space-time, he ended up here. Also human but plenty of weapons and skill to back him up. However, whatever you do don't bring up how he died. It's still a sore spot for him."

"How did he die?" Daniela asked.

"You'd know if you watched the movies." Junior said pointedly. "Worst day of his afterlife was when the Underworld got VHS."

"Anyway…" He said, getting back on topic. "The redheaded woman that Django's hitting on, in the outfit that would make even mom blush, that's Angela, daughter of Odin. She's an angel/guardian of a galaxy/bounty hunter and apparently she and Spawn had a love/kill relationship with each other. She's actually how I met Hela, as the good queen hired me to help knock her butt off her throne. Thus, Angela doesn't like me very much."

"That big ghost in the black power armor and green flames? That's Skulktech 9.9. He's what happens when the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter goes and pisses off the wrong Underworld lord. Aku mauled him so badly that he had to form a symbiotic relationship with the Ghost Zone's greatest technological mind just to keep going, hence the creepy green face in the center of his armor." He then looked directly at Daniela. "Whatever you do, do not change form in front of him." He warned her sternly. "He does this job almost solely for the trill of the hunt and values whatever prize he captures way more than any monetary reward. Just another ghost is not going to attract that much attention for him. But a half human/half ghost? Well…that'll be a prize he can't just ignore."

Daniela sat in silence, watching the cybernetic ghost from across the bar. She was not used to seeing other ghosts other than herself and Manny, so something as different as Skulktech 9.9 took a moment to truly get her head around.

"Well…those are mainly the ones to concern yourself with." Junior went on as Daniela absorbed everything he was dumping on her and the waitress finally returned, bearing the bottle of cyanide and the glass of milk on her. Debbie placed them down on the table, giving Junior a flirting wink as she did so, before leaving to tend to the other tables. "There are plenty of others but the only other big ones are people like Deadpool and Deathstroke and they don't tend to hang around here much. Bounty hunting is one of those funny jobs where anyone can do it but very few are actually any good at it."

Junior uncorked the bottle and took in a whiff. "Ohhh yeah…that's a good year! Daniela, you ever come back to this place on your own, be sure to ask for Debbie. She knows her stuff. That is…when you're old enough to drink, of course.

Daniela looked towards the glass of milk on the table, eying it with some distain. "Brother, while I agree it's best for me not to subject myself to any fool's drink that would dull the senses, I'm sure there was something else I could have been given to drink. Something more age appropriate, perhaps?"

"Who said this was for you?" Junior retorted as he picked up the glass and downed the entire thing in one gulp. "Souls do wonders for me but sometimes you need something that's just for the bones. Besides, you were planning on leaving before I caught you so you must have brought some money with you. If you want something go ahead and order."

Daniela gave a bit of a frustrated look off to the side.

"What?" Junior asked.

"…My money was in the clothes the Ammits tore up."

"Oh…" Junior said, understandably feeling like a bit of an ass (though interesting that she focused more on the loss of clean clothes than the money. "Well…guess we'd better keep an eye out for possible jobs then. Get you something to spend with."

With that Junior leaned back in his chair, making room as his chest literally opened itself up (a bit to Daniela's disgust), revealing two books sitting inside his torso. Junior reached in and pulled out one of them, his chest sealing itself back up.

"I…suppose that's one way to store important items." Daniela said, a bit put-off by what she just saw.

Junior smirked. "Trust me, the only people who get that close to me have much bigger things to worry about than stealing a couple of books."

As Junior flipped through the musty old pages, to Daniela's surprise she actually recognized it by the skull on its cover, shaped very similar to that of the Grim Reaper. It was the old family photo album, which their father had given to Junior before she was even born, as it also used to be Grim diary. She was surprised to see that he still had it, given how long he'd been away for, but soon saw the wanted posters that littered the pages her brother currently searched through, making it clear he was keeping it to chronicle his past and future hunts.

Daniela watched the bar in quiet for a minute while Junior kept serching when a thought came to her. She looked to her brother. "Brother…would you happen to know of a large orange robot? One that looks like a frowning jack-o'-lantern?" She asked.

Junior looked up from his papers at her, his eyes going a little wide in surprise at her question. But he soon after smiled, showing that it was an okay question to ask. "Noticed him, did you?"

"I was afraid he was going to crush me from bumping into him when I was searching for a table." She explained.

"Oh." Junior said, sounding a little disappointed. "I thought you were asking because he's staring at us right now from across the bar."

Daniela's eyes went wide and she turned her head sharply, indeed seeing the large robot from before sitting in a booth at the far end of the bar, its yellow eyes locked onto the two of them.

Daniela's head snapped sharply back to Junior. "Brother…!" She whispered in panic.

"Relax." Junior told her, patted her shoulder to get her to calm down. "He does that every time I come in here. Hasn't tried anything yet so I doubt he's going to do anything now when there's two of us."

Her brother's reassurance did little to calm her down. "But…but…who…what is he?"

"Don't know." Junior said simply with a shrug. "Nobody really knows much about him other than just random rumors. Hell, even his name, Lantern, is just what the people here started to call him because we could never get the guy's name out of him. Popular theory is that he's the reanimated remains of the Pumpkinator, brought back to life and given new form by dark magic or a very curious scientist."

"The Pumpkinator? The beast that was responsible for our sister's death?" Daniela asked.

"That's the one." Junior said, taking a drink.

Daniela looked back and forth between her brother and robot. "…And that doesn't bother you at all?!" She whispered sharply.

"Daniela, it's just a rumor. And even if it was true, he hasn't actually done anything to provoke me. Trust me, out here it's very important not to just show off to everyone what you can do unless you need to. Otherwise guys like these will see you coming and take you down." He explained, gesturing to the wanted posters in his book.

Daniela still felt uneasy about the machine still staring at them, but knew it would be best to follow her brother's lead on this since he was far more experienced in this kind of thing than she was. Craning her neck up she did her best to see the pages of the old book. When Junior noticed he simply handed it over to her so she could look through it freely. Giving a nod in thanks, Daniela flipped through the posters, with some of them noticeably marked on.

"Are the crossed out posters the ones you've apprehended?" She asked.

"No. The green checkmarks are the ones I've gotten. The X's are the ones other people did."

Daniela flipped through a few more, not recognizing most of what Junior had done but remembering a few of the crossed out ones from her studies.

"The Lich, Rita Repulsa, Wuya. Brother, these are all very big names." She commented.

"Yep, and most of them, like Django's grandmother, don't have a clear answer as to who took them in or even if anyone did. While there are not as many heroes around as there were back in the Megaville days, there are still people like Finn and Jake or the Power Rangers who take down people like these for no reward or credit (selfless bastards). That or they're just in hiding, biding their time and scheming, as you do when you're a villain."

Daniela continued to flip through the posters, finally coming across a checked off one she recognized from their mother making her study the history of Hell.

"The Ghost Rider?" She said, slightly impressed.

"Oh yeah…that one was me." Junior said, but strangely a bit hesitantly, scratching his head. "Not very proud of how that one came up, let me tell yo-"

"Grim Jr!" someone called out with an angry tone.

Both Junior and Daniela turned to the noise, seeing a tall thin man with cracked circular glasses limping his way over to their table. "You got some nerve showing up in my bar!" The man slurred. This, along with the bottle of bourbon in his hand and the stagger of his walk made it pretty clear that he was drunk.

"This isn't your bar, Nigel." Junior calmly reminded him. "Your bar went under, remember?"

"Shut up! I know!" Nigel yelled at the sitting Reaper, pointing his hand holding the bottle at him. "I know." He said again, a bit more sadly this time. "It fell apart. Just like my family's peanut farm. Just like my career as a wizard. Just like everything else in my life. Ever since your damn parents came into it!" He yelled, smacking the bottle of cyanide off the table, smashing it against the wall and getting the attention of everyone inside the bar.

"Hey!" The bartender warned. "No fights inside the bar! You want to scrap, you take it outside."

Nigel looked at Junior daringly. "Yeah…come on, Junior. Let's take this outside!"

"I'm not going to fight you, Nigel." Junior said calmly.

Nigel didn't take that as an answer. "Come on!" He yelled, shaking the table with his hands to get some kind of reaction out of him. "What? You afraid to fight me, Reaper baby?!" With the wizard's face so close Junior could practically smell the alcohol fuming from his mouth.

"Nigel…" Junior again said calmly, trying to defuse the situation. "It isn't worth it."

Junior's words only seemed to make him angrier. "Not worth it? What, like how I was never worth anything to your mom and dad? Not enough for them to ever look back after they destroyed my life?!"

"Nigel…"

Before any more could be said Nigel took the bottle he'd been holding and held it over the Reaper's head, dumping the contents within all over him.

"How about now? Am I worth it now?!" Nigel jeered at the dripping bourbon covered Reaper.

Nigel then found himself grabbed by the collar, but not by Junior. By Daniela, whom he'd not been paying any attention to up till this moment as she was not as recognizably a child of Grim and Evil as Junior was.

"How dare you!" She yelled at the wizard, her raised hand lighting up bright green with power. The anger in Nigel's face was replaced by fear as he scrambled to get his wand from inside his clothes.

"Daniela!" Junior yelled, startling the both of them into stopping what they were doing. "Let him go." He ordered.

The ghost girl looked back and forth between her brother and the wizard in her grasp, struggling with the why of doing such a thing. But in the end she relented, the light fading from her fist and releasing her grip on the man. As soon as his collar was free Nigel stumbled backwards, almost falling over, before turning and fleeing to the other end of the bar.

As the commotion died down the white noise of chatter refilled the bar. Junior pulled a cloth out of his pocket to wipe off the bourbon covering him while Daniela just stared blankly yet with a slight bit of anger at him.

"How could you let him treat you in such a way?" She asked him.

"Because he's drunk, depressed, and down on his luck." Junior explained simply as he wiped his face. "We've all been there."

"But you are the prince of the land of Death and a powerful warrior! You should never stand for anyone treating you as he did!"

"Ah yes, the old family motto: if you have power, make sure that everyone knows it." Junior said flatly.

"And is it wrong?" Daniela pointed out. "Our empire has many enemies yet many dare not try anything because they are well aware of what we can do to them. We do not allow people to think they can just walk all over us."

"There are already plenty of people who know not to mess with me." Junior retorted. "Nigel Planter is a fairly unimpressive wizard who was expelled from Toadblatt's and owned a peanut plantation until it went out of business. He blames mom and dad for all his problems because they all started happening after he first met them. Maybe he's right to, maybe he's not, but does that sound like someone I absolutely have to prove myself to?"

Daniela opened her mouth to retort but fell silent, knowing he had a point.

Seeing that Daniela hesitantly saw his point of view Junior put away the damp cloth and reopened his torso. "Now then, I believe we came here to see if we could get some answers." He said, as he picked up and closed his father's old journal.

As the two sibling talked over how they were going to investigate the recent break-in without attracting to much attention to themselves, Nigel stood across the bar from them, barely supporting himself on one of the tables. He was breathing hard, both from the fear that he was going to be killed and from the exhausted state his heavy drinking had put him in. The adrenaline from a mere moment ago had been enough to get his mind to focus enough to know to run away when he'd been given a chance, but now his senses were starting to dull again, along with his judgment. He'd always had a bit of a large ego, even as a child. But the many years of bad luck and misfortunes had chipped away at his self-image, slowly breaking him down into the hopeless loser he was now. And seeing the children of those whom had caused him misery in the past, those who've had nothing but success while he was stuck at rock bottom, simply talking to each other as though nothing had happened, as though his presence had done nothing to be of notice to them…it was more than he could take. And as he stared at the two with anger and bitterness returning to his drunken gaze he noticed Junior shelving he journal right next to another book inside his body. And that gave him a thought. It was a simple thought that soon became action. The simple thought that did not go past making the son of Mandy acknowledge his presence.

Nigel pulled out his wand. "Accio journal!" He cried out, pointing the wand towards the two.

His yell caught the attention of several of the bar's patrons, including Junior and Daniela. It was only a second before they were made aware of what he was doing, as the book beside the journal flew out from Junior's open chest and into the wizard's hand, which held the book up in triumph and pride.

As anyone would have guessed this triumph did not last long. However very few could have guessed it would end as badly as it did. In the blink of an eye Junior had left Daniela's side and was already upon the wizard. But his cool temperament was far gone. With one solid motion the Reaper grabbed Nigel by the arm which held the book and tore it clean from his body with a bloody rip.

Nigel's scream of agony filled the entire bar, the suddenness of such violence causing most of the patrons to take a leap back. Junior other hand grew massive, his fingers wrapping around Nigel's entire body as it crushed him against the floor.

" **DON'T YOU TOUCH THAT!"** Junior practically roared in his sudden demonic voice. This along with his increasing bulk and the red tears that started to split open along his body made he almost seem like a completely different person to his sister, who watched on in shock. **"DO YOU HEAR ME?! DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH THAT!"**

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Nigel screamed in terror at the Reaper's green thrashing jaws, his terror completely overshadowing the pain caused by his missing arm.

Junior picked Nigel up and threw him violently across the bar, smashing him through a number of tables, including the bartender's counter, causing him to crash into the numerous glasses and bottles.

The bar went deafly quiet, all eyes on two sights. The bleeding, moaning wizard lying in the pile of broken wood and glass, and one the panting, glowing Demon Reaper, practically dripping with rage. Junior's own eyes viewed around the bar. He could see everyone who had any slowly reaching for their weapons, getting ready in case he was about to attack. Junior's knuckles cracked, ready for any of them, know he could take them all easily.

And then his eyes fell to Daniela and her own eyes, staring at him with a mix of fear and confusion, like she didn't even recognize him anymore.

Junior's red eyes softened and reverted by to their normal green. The tears in his body resealed and his form returned to normal. After a moment of standing in the awkward silence, Junior reached into his jacket and pulled out a small roll of money.

"Sorry about the damages." He said, tossing the roll over to the bartender who immediately dropped it in shock and surprise. Junior then picked up the book out of Nigel's disembodied arm and turned towards the entrance. "Daniela. Let's go." He called out to her as he started to leave.

Daniela, like the rest of the patrons, sat in stunned silence for a long minute. But eventually she shook herself out of it, leaving her chair and running to catch up with her brother.

After the two left chatter refilled the bar, hushed whispers discussing what had just happened. The bartender and a few of the waitresses did what they could to help Nigel, or at least do enough to get him to stop bleeding over their remaining merchandise. And the machine known as Lantern took this given opportunity, turning inwards into his booth with his back to the crowd. He opened up a small compartment on his arm and his metal fingers lightly tapped the controls, entering in the commands to bring up a small holographic projection, which his bulk prevented the other bar patrons from seeing.

The projection took shape, forming the image of a reasonably tall man covered head to toe in a black and yellow robe, much like a monk would wear, with the hood hiding his full face.

"I have a report to give." Lantern informed the man, his deep robotic voice giving a small echo.

"Are you in _The Last Resort_?" The man asked him, annoyance in his tone. "Why are you talking to me from a public place?! Secret organization, remember? That means not attracting any attention to ourselves or even the fact that we exist!"

"Trust me. No one is paying any attention to me after Grim Jr's little show with Planter." Lantern stated.

"Planter?" The hooded man said with a bit of surprise. "Nigel Planter? That dropout wizard who used to own _The Leaking Wand_?"

Lantern nodded. "Uploading the video now." He said, his eyes glowing a brighter shade of yellow as he transferred the information.

As it loaded onto his screen the man continued to talk. "I know the big guy was talking recently about taking a look into Planter, see if his powers or his history would be of any use to us."

"I doubt he would have found anything of worth. Especially not now that Junior's disarmed him." Lantern stated.

"I'm sure we could get him another wand." The man said.

"Not that kind of disarming." Lantern explained.

The video finally popped up on the robed man's side of the screen and Lantern had to admit he took some enjoyment out of watching the man give a startled jump much like the bar patrons had at Junior's sudden brutality.

"Eugh." The man gave a shiver of disgust at seeing and imagining Nigel's incredible pain. "Well, at least we can say this: that is definitely Mandy's kid." The robed man leaned in the look closer at the video. "He lost it over a book? Again, I can easily see the boy's mother reacting the same way, but that was quite the sudden outburst. Any idea what that book is about?"

"None." The Lantern stated. "You've had me keeping eyes on the Reaper child for over a year now and I've never seen that book before. He either got it very recently or he's had it since before you put me on this assignment and he's never once taken it out."

The man in the hologram stroked his chin. "Hmm…curious. Very curious indeed. We'll have to look into this. Good work, Lantern."

"I'm not finished." Lantern said before the man could end the transmission.

"Oh?"

"His sister is traveling with him." Lantern explained.

Though he could not see his eyes under the shadow of his hood Lantern could still tell how wide the man's eyes became once he shared this information.

"Minimandy?" He said with a sense of urgency.

Lantern shook his head. "No. The younger one. The ghost hybrid."

"Oh." The man said, sounding disappointed. "Well that's not as big a deal. Our intel tells us that she's not much of a fighter. We shouldn't need to adjust our plans much to account for her."

"I could take her out just to be sure." Lantern offered. "I could take them both out and be done with it."

"Lantern…" The man said with a sigh, knowing where this was going.

"I'm more than equipped to deal with Junior. You made me equipped to deal with him."

"It's not time for that yet."

"Then when will it be time?!" Lantern yelled in anger. If the other patrons were not otherwise distracted by Junior's previous commotion, his yell would have drawn attention to himself. "I have been waiting for years to get my revenge! And every time he's near you make me sit back and watch, knowing full well that I have the power to snap him like a twig and move on to the rest of his family!"

"Now. Is not. The time!" The man finally snapped back at the robot. "You think I don't get your desire for revenge? I want it more than you could possibly imagine with that brainless body of yours. You think I don't want to hear their endless screams of agony after what they did to me? But if we're going to do this, then we are going to do this right. Which means you are going to follow your orders and wait. Is. That. Clear?"

Lantern glared at the hologram. "…Fine."

The robed man glared back. "Good." He said before hitting a button and ending the transmission.

"Milk-sucking asshole." Lantern muttered as he closed the compartment on his arm. Turning back to the rest of the bar he was surprised to see the waitresses sweeping up the remaining broken glass and wood, with Nigel Planter nowhere to be seen. Adjusting his scanners he found a small trail of blood drops that led from where Junior had left the wizard to out the side door that lead to the alley.

Lantern gave shrug at this, it being no loss to anyone what would happen to Nigel Planter. And so he decided to stay seated for just a little longer in his booth, knowing that with how angry he was he might just try to kill Junior out of spite for his partner.

* * *

Nigel stumbled out into the alley outside _The Last Resort_ , nearly falling into some garbage bins against the wall. His wand had already cauterized the wounds and he'd cast a spell to start regrowing his arm. Unfortunately it was a very slow process and a very painful one throughout.

"Stupid Reapers. Stupid Underworld. Stupid Grims." He muttered and cursed under his breath as Nigel continuously winced in pain.

"Yeah. He's quite the temperamental little bugger, isn't he?" Asked a male voice from down the alley.

Nigel's head perked up in surprise, not having expected anyone to be out here. "H…hello?"

"Over here." The voice called to him, though he still couldn't tell where it was coming from. Nigel looked around in confusion and saw no one. But after blinking his eyes he then saw someone casually leaning with his back up against one of the alley walls. Someone Nigel, even in his still partially drunken state, was sure hadn't been there a moment ago.

Nigel squinted his eyes as he walked towards the person, it being too dark to make out much of them. The most he could make out was the man's long white jacket and his basic outline against the little light there was in the alley. But as Nigel got closer, this outline started to look…familiar.

"Junior?" Nigel asked, still squinting.

The man wagged his finger playfully at him. "No, no. Not quite. But don't worry, the confusion is not insulting to me." He said in a friendly tone. "You'll have to forgive Junior for his little mood swing back there. He's going through a bit of a rough patch in his life right now. Not saying you should be happy that he Ben Kenobi'd your arm, but I mean, come on, the guy wants to bang his own mother. That's an entire textbook worth of issues right there to give you some sympathy for the kid."

"Wants to bang his…? Who are you?" Nigel asked.

"Me?" The hidden man said. "Well…I was the guy who was going to offer you the opportunity of a lifetime. But after that little performance in there I think we'll be just fine as we are. Sorry."

"O-opportunity?" Nigel stumbled towards the man. "Wait! What opportunity?!"

The man didn't seem to hear him. "Still…don't want this trip to be a complete waste." The man said, not acknowledging the wizard's question.

Before he even knew what was happening the man had grabbed Nigel by the jaw, lifting him up high in the air with one arm. With the man's hand covering his mouth Nigel could not scream or call for help, leaving only to beat his remaining arm against his attacker in a vain and futile attempt to escape.

"You know what the worst part of this probably is for you?" The man asked the struggling Nigel. "If you had been this pathetic just a few years ago, I probably would have come to help you instead of the other guy." The man shrugged. "Ifs and buts, candy and nuts, am I right?"

Nigel felt his flesh begin to burn as his entire body started to glow. The stranger's hand muffled his screams of agony as the light enveloped his being. And when it had finally completely consumed him he went silent.

The light went out and the remains of Nigel Planter slipped through the man's fingers as nothing more than bits of sand and dust.

The man in the white jacket flexed his muscles for a bit. "Huh. There was more in there than I thought there'd be." He commented, mildly surprised. "Good on ya, man. Guess everyone always was just underestimating you."

The man's head then perked up, taking notice of the presence behind him.

"I really wish you hadn't seen that, Django." He said dryly.

The man turned behind him and indeed there was Django of the Dead. As the man in the white jacket would assume, the skeleton saw everything. But it was not surprise, fear, or even disgust that filled his features. No. From under his hat the eyes of Django stared with only one emotion. Rage. Pure and barely being held back.

Natural the man had to egg him on.

"So…" The man said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Did you come back here to ask Nigel some questions about Sartana in case he saw anything, or maybe just rob him, because honestly I wouldn't think he'd have much of either to offer."

Django did not respond, still glaring at the man.

"Not much for small talk today, huh?" The man commented.

Finally Django did respond. "…When my grandmother went missing there wasn't a trace anywhere of her to be found. No portal residue left in her house. No money missing to suggest she was going underground to hide. It was like she'd just vanished. In fact, the only thing that was even slightly out of place was that her house was a little dirtier than usual, which in itself is nothing unusual. This is the Underworld after all. Nothing really stays clean down here. And that little bit of extra dirt and sand that we found in her house…we didn't feel anything magical about it, and it didn't give us any leads to where my grandmother might be, so no one thought much of it. And until just now, neither did I."

Django and the man in the white jacket stood across from each other, tensing themselves as they waited to see what the other's first move would be.

"Well then…" the man said evenly, doing well to hide what he was thinking from Django. "Now that that's all out there, let's indulge your curiosity by indulging mine. Is your first question going to be about her? Or about this?" The man held his hand out and from a flash of flames the golden mystic guitar of Sartana appeared in his grasp.

Django eyed the guitar with anger and caution. It was an object of power he'd grown up around for his entire afterlife. He knew what it could do and from its very presence he could tell that it was real.

"And my grandmother?" He asked.

"If I burped would that answer your question, or would you need me to walk you through it?" The man mocked with a smirk.

That was the last bit Django needed to set him off. In much the same fashion as his grandmother's Django's own red and black guitar appeared in his hands through a flash of fire. And though the man in the white jacket had Sartana's guitar out first, his speed proved less than her grandson's, as before could even point his forward Django had already gotten a shot off, energy blasting from the end of his guitar and knocking the weapon from the man's hands, sending it spinning up into the air.

"Wow! You're quite the little gunsling-OOF!" The man commented, interrupted by the blast that then hit him dead-center in the chest, knocking him back into the far wall. As the man got back to his feet Django twanged another of his guitar's strings, summoning forth his grandmother's skeleton banditos out from the ground and the wall, each grabbing him by the arms, legs, and neck to restrain him.

Sartana's guitar stopped spinning upwards and fell towards the ground, landing in Django's free hand. As he walked forwards the skeleton glared at the man he had trapped and pinned against the wall.

"I'm going to make you pay!" Django yelled, his fingers steady on his guitar's strings, already planning the endless and increasingly horrific punishments he'd make the man go through.

Strangely, the man did not struggle against the grasp of the numerous servant of Django. Instead simply looking over them and back to his captor quite calmly. "I was hoping to leave you out of this, Django." He said.

"I'm sure you were." Django said, fire in his eyes.

"I mean it." The man said honestly. "Yours and Sartana's powers are already pretty much the same, so there was no real need to get both of you. Plus you're still growing. Heck, to even get me against a literal wall like this I'd say your guitar is already getting to be as powerful as hers. Maybe even more. I wanted to see how far you'd get."

"Well then, congradulation! You get to." Django stated darkly, twanging the final string on his guitar. At their master's command the skeleton banditos pulled out their pistols, each aiming for a part of the body where it'd hurt: the knees, the shoulder, the lungs, and the midsection, for their master wanted his grandmother's killer to suffer.

At his order the click of the guns was heard.

But none of them fired.

"What?" Django said in confusion, as he continued to play his guitar but the banditos would not respond to his commands.

"Unfortunately, Django…" The man said, his voice commanding the boy's attention. "No matter how great you power gets, it's still magic."

The man's eyes glowed into a fiery pink and as this light illuminated his face so too did it light up the emptiness of the banditos' eye sockets. For a moment they did not move. Then their heads turned sharply towards Django.

The skeleton banditos released their hold on their prisoner and then advanced upon their former master, guns drawn and firing.

Django reacted fast, knowing that this was no time to gape in shock. With the same speed he'd used before he struck down the banditos, one after another, the blasts taking out their bullets and their bodies as they approached him. Django knew he could not risk summoning more banditos to aid him, in fear that they might be turned as well, but thankfully he did not need to, as they proved little match for the guitar of power that they normally obeyed.

When the last minion was struck down he saw that the man was approaching and hesitated not for a single second to fire at him again, this time an even more powerful blast than the last, knowing he needed to take him out now.

To his relief, the blast hit dead-on.

To his horror, it did absolutely nothing, not even slowing the man down as he just kept walking through it.

"And magic…" The man continued, as though nothing of significance had happened in the past minute. He then grabbed Django by the neck, holding him up as he had the late Nigel.

And like Nigel, Django struggled greatly to escape.

And like Nigel, it amounted to nothing. For like Nigel, the body of Sartana's grandson glowed brightly, before fading into nothing but dust, the guitars falling from where his hands had been before evaporating into flame.

"…Is what I'm all about." The man finished, before taking a pair of dark sunglasses from out of his jacket. He put them on and simply walked away, whistling a tune as he did so.

* * *

Daniela shifted slightly on the cold rocky ground. Time had clearly passed due to the dimming campfire so she must have slept somewhat, but it certainly did not feel like it. Not helped by the fact that the Underworld seems to have the same dreary red sky no matter what time it is.

Since they'd left the bar Junior had hardly said a word to her. In fact the only thing she could remember him even talking to her was when they were miles past the border, the furthest she'd ever been outside of Death's domain. And what he said was simply "We'll stop here for the night." Not even looking at her when he said it. Though she could hardly say whether she was grateful for that or not.

Since they'd left she had not once mentioned that they'd forgotten to search for information about the vault's break-in. She wasn't sure if she should. She'd seen Junior fight before, twice resulting in him saving her. Hell, she'd even almost fought him herself when she was trying to escape his capture. But during all those times though he was powerful and intimidating, possibly even a little sadistic, he was calm. In-control. But back there…she didn't know how to describe it in any way other than savage. Brutally wrathful. And as she laid here mere feet from the one who had so suddenly snapped, she realized she really didn't know him at all. He was her older brother, sure. But that scene at the bar she now realized was one of the very few memories she had of him.

As she shifted again, trying to get comfortable, she found herself facing where Junior was sitting. He was across from her, leaning against Dragonslayer, which he had inserted into the ground, and he sat reading what she soon realized was the book that Nigel had snatched away from him.

She had not gotten a good look at the book when Junior had put it away before and was a bit surprised by its design. It bore a purple hardcover, with a more rounded looking skull with a single eye in its right socket on the center of the book's cover, in much the same style as their father's old journal. However unlike that book this one was in much worse condition and not likely due to old age, given that the skull on the cover was made to resemble Junior. Though she could not see what Junior was reading Daniela could tell that many of the pages wrinkled or ripped. In fact, given how wide the spine of the book was it seemed that the book had quite a few pages missing from it. And the books hardcover was quite worn out, seemingly due to abuse rather than age.

And as she looked upwards towards Junior's face, still remembering his beastly rage from before, Daniela could not have been more shocked by what she saw. Whatever Junior was reading out of that book seemed to be making him quite upset. Not in the angry way. No, just the opposite in fact. From where she was lying, it almost looked like he was…crying.

Junior looked up from his book and Daniela quickly shut her eyes, pretending to still be asleep. For a few minutes Daniela didn't hear anything and then came a bit of shuffling. After another few minutes after the noise had stopped Daniela carefully reopened her eyes. Junior was still sitting against his sword, though now with his arms folded and his eyes closed. The book was nowhere to be seen, likely having been put back to within his chest.

She could not say for sure whether he'd noticed her watching or not. Either way, she still would not be sure of what to make of what she'd just seen.

And again, she was reminded of how little she really knew about him.

* * *

The next morning the two continued on their way. The path they walked on was seemingly random, but Daniela imagined that was often how Junior travelled around. Unfortunately, just as with the previous day's travels, it was spent with nothing but silence between the two.

Daniela hated it. Several times she looked up at her brother, wanting to say something. Anything. To just get him to stop looking straight ahead and talk to her. To say something to remind her of why she'd felt so happy that it was him of all people who'd invited her to come with as he explored the vastness of the Underworld. But each time she tried, she hesitated and backed down, unable to bring herself to do it. She berated herself internally for her cowardice, knowing how disappointed her mother would be for her failing to work up the nerve to simply say-

"I'm sorry." Junior said.

Daniela looked back up at him, caught off guard. "…What?"

Junior stopped walking. He didn't look at her at first but slowly he turned to face her. "…I didn't mean to scare you. …I'm sorry."

Daniela didn't quite know what to say, not having expected Junior to say anything at all like this. "N-no. It's ok." She said. "That wizard…he just kept pushing it and you finally decided he needed to stop."

"It's more than that." Junior said a bit distantly. "That book…it's something very personal to me. Something that I made personal. Because there's someone I want to read it someday. And even then…not really. And the idea of someone else seeing it…was more than I could take." He looked and spoke gently to his sister. "I just want you to know…that you never should have to be afraid of me. Not even when I'm like that. I'm your older brother. Protecting you is what I'm supposed to do, and I'm sorry that I made you feel, even for a second, otherwise. Especially over a book."

The silence between the two had returned. Only this time it was not due to fear of speaking, but rather having so much to say that one could not properly put into words.

"I was…startled, brother. Indeed." Daniela said, choosing the words carefully. "But I feel less danger from you than I do from Manny and he actually has used lethal attacks against me in our youth."

"One of those things I sure other families don't talk casually about." Junior commented quietly.

Daniela smiled a little. "I do not fear your wrath, for I know you will not direct it at me."

Junior gave a small relieved smile back. "I'm glad to hear that."

The two continued back onto their walk, the mood lightened a bit.

"I'm…assuming that the contents of your book…that is something that is not something you are willing to share. Not now." Daniela asked carefully

"Right." Junior said simply.

"I understand." Daniela said, not wanting to start up the problem again. …But that's not to say an idea didn't come to her mind. "Brother, that book would not happen to be filled with the posters of those who've gotten away from you, would it?"

Junior gave her a smirk, knowing she was trying to egg him on. "You really think anyone's ever gotten away from me when I've set my sights on them?" He asked.

"I believe I am proof of that, given that I got away from you and you did not catch me again." She pointed out.

"What do you call what happened near the border then?"

"That was the Ammits' doing, remember? They seemed to have done a much better job of trapping me than you did."

"Shut up."

Daniela giggled. "They may even have done it with more proper manners towards a lad-!" Daniela found herself interrupted by Junior's sudden hand over her mouth.

"No, seriously, shut up. Do you hear that?" Junior asked as he looked up and around.

Slowly he removed his hand from her mouth and indeed Daniela started to hear something in the distance.

"Are those…bagpipes?" She asked in confusion.

The noise went on for another minute before suddenly stopping. The two looked at each other in confusion when then in the distance they saw something get launched skyward. It made an arc as began to fall back to the ground, eventually landing mere feet away from where Junior and Daniela stood. And indeed it was a pair of bagpipes.

That were on fire.

Green fire to be exact.

"Well that's…unexpected." Junior said, a bit dumbfounded.

The two walked forward to inspect the burning instrument, though Junior had Daniela stay behind him just in case.

As Junior used his eye to trace the sky to determine where the bagpipes had been flung from Daniela's breath for a quick minute became visible and cold. This came as something of a surprise to Daniela, as this strange event usually only tended to happen whenever Manny was attempting to sneak up on her in ghost form.

Junior's eyes then went wide and he pushed her back. "GET DOWN!" He yelled as he held his sword out upside-down in front of him.

For a second she had no idea what was wrong. Then everything went green.

It took her eyes a second to adjust and then she saw what was happening. Her older brother in front of her, using his massive blade as a shield to protect them both from without a doubt the most powerful ecto-blast she'd ever seem in her life. It was simply a constant eruption of energy bombarding them from above, with Junior pushing against his sword with all his might to fight against the stream of power.

Finally, the blast ended. But not the threat, for before them appeared something so fast Daniela could only make out white flames and a pair of glowing red eyes. Junior moved quickly to act, seemingly knowing what was coming next.

And what came next? The creature that attacked them, whatever it was, wailed. Wailed in very much the same way that Daniela had known her twin to do when he wished to deliver a great finishing blow. Only this was far beyond anything Manny was capable of producing. The waves of sonic split the ground apart below and around them, the sheer force of it being enough to send them flying back as though they were hit by a truck going full speed. From being so close to the source Daniela almost blacked out, her eyes and ears pounding from the incredible pain.

For moments she didn't know where she was. She just knew that the wail had stopped. When she felt well enough to she reopened her eyes. At first she panicked, seeing nothing but blackness. But soon she calmed, realizing that it was not a lack of vision but rather Junior that'd caused the blackness. He'd created a wall of thick Nergal flesh from his body to protect her when the wail hit. Now that it was finished the extra flesh broke away from the rest of him, the damage it'd taken causing it to crack apart and crumble like a piece of drywall.

Daniela breathed, amazed that she was still alive, while Junior simply stood where he was, staying with his sword drawn between her and the enemy she now saw before them.

The one standing smugly before them was a man and a rather muscular one at that, wearing what seemed to be a black and white jumpsuit that likely was designed to show off his powerful physique. The two things that really stood out from the man's outfit was the long white cape and the D insignia on his chest. The white flames that she'd seen earlier were actually what made up the man's hair, both for his head and small beard. And given his green tinted skin and everything he just showed he could do, it didn't take much deduction on Daniela's part to realize that the man was a ghost.

A very, very powerful ghost.

"Well…" Dan smirked, looking directly to Junior. "Wasn't expecting to run into you today."

 **Chapter end**

* * *

Author's notes: So I believe this chapter brings the count to 5 of characters I've introduced into the story just to kill off (though in fairness 4 of them were already technically dead). If I start having the characters act vastly out of character with no explanation (except for Junior's incest issues because those will be addressed throughout) please let me know because I don't want to turn into Brian Michael Bendis (just ask people what they think of Marvel's Civil War II). So to anyone who is a fan of Nigel Planter from the original show I do apologize. I wasn't trying to make him look bad exactly, I was trying to show him as I guy who's had his life completely fall apart because, honestly, I imagine that how it went for a lot of Billy and Mandy's friends and enemies and family members. Really anyone they tended to cross paths with. I like the show and the characters but you got to admit those kids are monsters (and boy is it fun to watch).

Anyway sorry about the delay on this chapter. I wanted to have it up earlier, but…well, for the past year or so people have been recommending that I watch Steven Universe. So I did. And I couldn't stop watching until I was completely caught up and am now waiting impatiently for the new episodes to air. Maybe not the best excuse but it is the reason this took so long to write.

Well now that my various butts are covered, let's talk about the chapter. We got some antagonists introduced, one of whom may or may not have something to do with the Pumpkinator. I'm not going to say who the three are yet (not that you probably wouldn't be able to guess), but I will give the hint that technically none of them are OC's (I personally just don't like introducing OC characters into my stories unless they're the children of already existing characters).

We also got missing children (always a pleasant topic) and Junior nearly mauling a man over a book. So either a lot of stuff happened in this chapter or nothing did. You make the call. Either way the next chapter should be a little more exciting. Dan Phantom's in it and he and Junior do have some history between them since Junior left home. Not the yaoi kind but the more beat each other senseless kind.

Also, the bar from this chapter, _The Last Resort_ , is the bar on Mars from the movie Total Recall (the original). Some part of this chapter were made with some of the recent pages of the actual Grim Tales comic in mind, where Chi is in a part of the Underworld that seems to be filled with aliens, mainly those from Samurai Jack and Ben 10. This is my idea of how you could explain them being in the Earth Underworld. Heck between shows like Justice League, Ben 10, and My Life As A Teenage Robot, all of which have been confirmed to take place in the PPGD and Grim Tales Universe, that's a lot of aliens who've tried and failed to invade Earth.

P.S: This is one of those times where I'm upset I can't draw worth a damn because if this was an actual comic I'd have placed random characters all over the bar for people to spot, one coming to mind that I'd really want would be Rick Sanchez and Stanford Pines (the real one) playing poker in the back against a bunch of dogs.

QTP: Who is Lantern working for/with? What other children of the Underworld have been kidnapped? Why did Junior suddenly flip out about the book Nigel took? What happened to Nigel and Django? How much does Daniela really know about her older brother? How will Daniela meeting her biological father for the first time go? And what's the deal with the bagpipes?


	5. Family Disappointments

**Part 5: Family Disappointments**

 **Nikola the Einstein:** Everything you just said just adds to the reasons why it sucks that I can't draw, because those are definitely things that'd need to be in the background of the bar! I can't believe I forgot about Predator when naming some of the bounty hunters, considering how many of those things have died between Predator 1, 2, and Alien vs. Predator 1 and 2. Also, you're correct, Daniela does not know that Dan is her and Manny's father, as Mandy never had a reason to tell them and Grim felt no desire to, considering he's not fond of any of his wife's bedmates.

 **Lord Razer:** Ok, now I see what you meant by the Jaime Lannister thing and I can agree with that. Though I think in this Mandy would be seen by many to be the ultimate prize. Not only is she a beautiful woman and one of the few pure humans in the Underworld, she's also one of the most powerful of the Underworld lords, if not the most powerful, and certainly respected and feared by the rulers of many other realms as well. Honestly if she wasn't his mother no one would be all that shocked about how much he desires her (though they would tell him to get real and that he has no shot with a woman like her).

At the risk of spoiling things for you, yes, the hooded man is a character from the original show that Mandy did screw over (like the majority of other characters on that show, so that's a pretty wide pool to choose from).

Never seen Wander Over Yander. I don't doubt that it's good, but just like with some other shows I've heard about that are good like Gumball or My Little Pony, I just don't think it'd be my thing. As for Steven Universe, while I really like that show I've been planning out this story for a while now, since before I ever saw the show, so I doubt it'd work well to mix in one of their characters (though I'll definitely have a reference to it at some point, given that this is Grim Tales and every continuity that is not tied down is potentially included somewhere in this universe).

 **DPSS:** Yeah, sorry about that. Trust me, as a comic book fan I understand the frustrations of having a character just killed off for almost no reason, thus why I'll try not to do it too much.

1\. Good guess, because he is involved in some way, though I'm not saying how yet.

2\. Again, good guess because that's pretty much the case.

3\. I'll just say it certainly has something to do with that reason.

4\. Yep.

5\. Mainly whatever Minnie told her about him.

6\. Correct.

7\. That's…not far off from the truth, actually.

 **nightmaster000:** Thank you.

 **AMTT94:** Don't worry, I'm going to be more respectful to Manny and Daniela in this story than in Empire of Death. Mainly because I have no reason to do that to them again, given that they were just meant to be another tragedy for Junior in that story. In this story they're playing much different roles and are more important to the story.

 **Emeraldalex123:** The missing children are definitely a tie-in to the Afterbirth storyline, given that was what inspired this story. And funny that you should mention it being non-canon because I was actually able to talk with Griddles, one of the guys who wrote for Grim Tales for a while, including on Afterbirth, in the comments section of the SNAFU website (at least I'm assuming it's the real guy, given the inside knowledge he has and the way that everyone talks to him (again, it's a comments section so I'm being cautious)). The entire conversation should be on the "Knowledge is Bitter sweet" page of  Sugar Bits and I'd recommend giving it a look, as he talks about why the story was left the way it was.

* * *

 **Chapter start:**

Daniela slowly stood to her feet, her legs wobbling from the sudden attack. As she stood behind her brother she looked to him for some idea of what to do. From the way the ghost man spoke to Junior it was clear that they knew each other, though whether it was a good relationship was up for debate. Not only due to the fact this man attacked them out of nowhere but the look on her brother's face, which showed he was not afraid of the man but rather irritated by his presence.

"What's it been?" Dan asked. "Since Hades? Muspelheim? There's been at least something since the Null Void, I remember that."

"Since Outworld." Junior answered, doing his best to hide Daniela behind him until he could think of something to make Dan leave.

Dan snapped his fingers. "Right! That's what it was. Heh. Given all the demons that've been after me lately I guess Shao Khan's still pissed at us. Though I imagine it'd be me more than you if I'd been the one to get with Sindel first."

Daniela, recognizing the name of another realm's queen and recognizing the meaning of the ghost's words, looked up to her brother with some red on her face. Junior however never took his eyes off of him.

"I'm a little busy at the moment, Dan." Junior said, lying and doing his best not to set the ghost off. "If you want a fight I'll be happy to do it later, but not while I'm trying to track down a target."

"Oh, don't be a coward, Junior." Dan replied, not buying the Reaper's story. "We both know that if you were that strapped for cash you would have attacked me back the second you saw my face. So how busy could you really be-?"

Dan then paused himself, seeing Daniela peering over Junior's shoulder.

"Oh…so it's _that_ kind of busy." Dan said with a bit of a perverted smirk.

Daniela's face went a little redder and then it became a full blown tomato when Junior said "Yes…it is. Now leave."

Though there was so much blood rushing to her face Daniela knew that her brother was just trying to get them away from the man, though she did not yet know the reason. So she said nothing to break the deception, though the very suggestion that she and Junior were that…intimate…made Daniela reach for her fan like never before.

She pulled it out to cool herself off, but in the blink of an eye Dan was suddenly right before her, his hand grabbing her by the chin. His fingers pinched her cheeks against her mouth as he gave her a look-over. Just from the strength of his hand alone made Daniela fearful that the man could easily snap her neck if he even had half a thought to do so.

"A bit younger than the ones you usually go with, Junior." Dan commented as he held her. "Still, I'd be lying if I said I couldn't see the draw."

Junior then grabbed Dan tightly by the wrist of the hand that held his sister. "Move your hand or lose it, Dan." He warned, with a glare to match and Dragonslayer still ready in his hand.

Dan looked at the hand that gripped his wrist. The dark smile that spread across his face showed that he was oh so tempted to throw the first punch (again). But…though Dan was a creature of no conscience or morality, he still had known Junior long enough to have at least some respect for him. More than he had for most, anyway.

Dan turned his hand intangible, releasing Daniela from his grasp as he slipped free of Junior's. "Alright, Junior. You two kids get a free pass to play Hide-The-Groin-Bone or whatever it is you do. I suppose I was in the middle of something myself before I saw you. But next time you better be ready to bring your A-game, Junior."

"I'll keep that in mind." Junior said simply.

Dan gave them both another lookover before flying off.

Once the ghost had reached a high enough point in the sky for him to feel comfortable Junior gave a sigh of relief, swing his sword up and behind him to resheath it. "That was close."

Daniela, the redness in her face having toned down during her fear of Dan being so close to her, asked "Brother, who was that man?"

The stop Dan made in the sky was so sudden to screech of tires could almost be heard. While it was not an ability of his that was well known or even used, the phantom's pointy ears were for more than just show, as him turning his head in reaction to Daniela's words proved.

"Brother?" Dan repeated in surprise.

" _Shit."_ Junior cursed internally.

Though the ghost was far away from them Junior could still see the man connecting the dots in his head, until he finally came to the conclusion as to who Daniela truly was, as evidenced by the big smile that spread across his face.

Like a shot Dan flew right back down to the two of them, practically beaming.

"Why, Junior, I'm insulted. Your own little sister and you've never mentioned me before?" Dan taunted the Reaper. "And here I thought we were best buds."

Junior's scowl had never stretched his face as much as it did right at this very moment. He knew what Dan was doing and he unfortunately had every reason to just play along with it.

Grinning a little more at how angry he was making Junior, Dan held out his hand to Daniela. "Dan Phantom." He introduced himself proudly. "Strongest ghost you'll ever meet, and that holds true no matter what future it is."

Daniela, not quite getting the meaning behind his comment, simply gave his hand a light shake back. "D-Daniela, of the House of Grim."

"Daniela?" Dan asked with an amused look. "Heh. Let me guess, your mother's the one who named you."

"Yes. That's what I've been told, anyway." Daniela hesitantly answered him, feeling slightly uneasy by the way this man looked at her.

"Yeah. I've met your mother once or twice before." Dan told her. "Both times were very…heated, to say, and far too short lived for my taste. In fact, I believe we first met when your brother here had his little rampage in Halloweentown."

Junior's glare could practically transfer his thoughts and anger. _"I am going to chop you up into teeny tiny pieces and then eat your head!"_ Which of course made Dan want to egg him on even further.

The two's glares at each other were interrupted by Daniela. "So that's how you two know each other? From the incident?"

Junior rubbed the back of his head. "Well, yes, that's how we met. But we've crossed paths quite a few times over the years during my travels." He admitted.

Dan folded his arms, beaming smugly. "You could say we're something of rivals." He told his unknowing daughter.

"Rivals?"

"And by that he means that we occasionally meet up and beat each other senseless." Junior informed her.

Dan gave a small laugh. "Deceptive as it might seem skinny-britches here is the only one who can actually keep up with me around these parts." He said. "The score currently stands at 50 to 49, my favor."

Daniela's eyes widened a bit. _"This man…is stronger than my brother?"_

"You cheated in the Final Destination ring and you know it." Junior shot at Dan.

"I still won." Dan retorted. "Now then, and I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but enough about me, little girl. Let's talk about yo-!"

A bullet then whizzed past the ghost's head. At first he thought it was Junior but the Reaper looked just as surprised as he was. Turning around to where the shot was fired from the group saw a man walking towards them. It wasn't hard to spot him, given the man's bodily proportions. He was a very tall man, well over six feet, with a barrel chest and tree trunk arms to eclipse even Dan's muscular build. He was balding, but with enough red hair in his beard to more than make up for it. There were three things of immediate notice about the man. One, he wore a kilt around his waist. Two, he held a rather large broadsword in his hand as he approached them (though small in comparison to his own size). And three, in his other hand he held the machine gun which had fired upon them. The machine gun that also seemed to function as one of his legs.

The man lowered his gun leg back down so that he could walk a bit straighter as he stopped just before Dan, angrily glaring down at the ghost.

"Ya know…when yer dumb enough ta pick a fight wit someone because ya got no taste in good true music, the least you could do is have the basic gumption to drag yer sorry pale arse back into the fray after the other guy rightful knocks ya back fer half a mile so he don't have ta chase ya down to make sure you've been properly learned!" The man bellowed loudly at Dan in a very prominent Scottish accent.

"Sorry." Dan said uncaringly. "I got distracted."

"Distracted?" The man repeated. "By what? Ya haven a tea party over here with Slim Jim and his babysitter?"

"Slim Jim?" Junior cocked his head.

"Babysitter?" Daniela repeated, strangely enough sounding even more offended than Junior.

Dan chucked a bit, cracking his knuckles as he did so. "This is funny. This is probably one of the few times someone has actually wanted to keep fighting me. Most of the time it's just the same old screams of agony, begging for mercy." Dan shrugged. "Guess I just need a few more minutes with you."

"Oh, keep tellen yerself that, matchstick man." The man retorted, the stink of his breath blasting past Dan's face. "In case you've forgotten it was my fist that send ya stumblin all the way back here. And that was you being lucky given that it was mah sword I was aimin to drive through ya and return the favor of what ya did to mah best pipes!" He yelled, pointing to where the bagpipes had landed, which now reduced to nothing but a pile of ash.

"Honestly I'd say I did the music world a favor." Dan mocked. "A favor I'll double up on once I take care of you." He said as his hands started to glow green and his eye glow red, getting ready to fight.

But then, rather unexpectedly, Junior shot his hand out in front of him. "Sorry, Dan, but I can't let you do that."

"…What?" Dan said.

"Yeah…what?" The man repeated.

"Yeah…what?" Daniela repeated as well, completing the axis of surprise.

Junior reached into his chest, pulling up a poster from his father's old journal. Junior held it before the stranger. "The Scottsman. That's you, right?" Junior asked, the picture clearly resembling the man before him.

"Aye. That be me." The man nodded. "What's it to ya?"

Junior turned the poster back to himself. "Says here you're a wanted man. And worth about…" Junior took a look at the reward and gave an impressed whistle. "1.9 googolplex! That's a lot of money."

"Is that in our currency, brother?" Daniela asked. "How much is that worth?"

"You know, I never bother to check these kinds of things." Junior said with a bit of realization. "I usually just make enough to just have enough of the right currency on hand no matter where I go so I've never had to worry about exchange rates and-"

"Oy!" The Scottsman yelled, getting their attention back again. "While yer there starin at me and talkin like I'm yer future piggy bank deposit, I'd just like ta remind ya both that ya ain't makin me go nowhere without a fight!"

"And that's a fight which belongs to me." Dan said.

"Dan, you don't care about money." Junior pointed out. "At least I have practical reasons for wanting to ruin this guy's day."

"I have practical reasons." Dan said. "I hate bagpipe music and I like to punch people. What more do you need?"

"Income." Junior answered.

"Touché." Dan said, granting him that one. "But you still owe me a fight, remember? So if you think I'm going to just let you blow me off so you can interrupt another fight of mine, you must not know me very well, Junior."

"Look, if this starts turnin into a lover's spat kind of thing then I'm gettin out of here before I hurl up mah breakfast." The Scottsman interjected between the two of them.

"Look, just wait a moment, ok?" Junior said rudely to the Scottsman. "We'll work something out and then I can get on with kicking your ass and shipping you up to whoever wants you."

"OHH!" The Scottsman said with mocking impressiveness. "A wee little baby-faced lad like you is gonna kick my arse? Ya think I don't know who ya are?"

"I'm guessing if you did you wouldn't be taking that tone with me." Junior commented.

"No. I know who ya are." The Scottsman said. "Yer the Grim Reaper's little boy who fancies himself as a bounty hunter. I know because yer basically the baby-faced spitting image of him, only wit a girlier jacket and head of hair. Yer old man's been knockin at my door fer years now. Only time I ever answered was shove that robe of his back up is ribcage and send him crying back home to that thin twig of a woman he calls his wife. Let me tell you something, bone boy, I don't know what goes on through the head of that mother of yours, but a real woman has some meat on her bones and knows how to fight wit more than just some fancy schmancy pistols. So if you think fer one moment that I have anything to fear from some little runt the two of them raised up who don't even know how ta eat properly, you ought ta have whatever hole you use in place of eyes checked and then rechecked, cause clearly they ain't functionin properly." The Scottsman bellowed, bending over to get in the Reaper's face. "So what do ya have to say to that, Mr. Baby-Faced, Fancy-Jacket-Wearin, Garden-Sickle-Wielding, Clype-Dreep-Bachle, Gether-Uping-Blate-Maw, Bleathering, Gomeril, Jessie, Oaf-Looking, Scooner, Nyaff, Plookie, Shan, Milk-Drinkin, Soy-Faced Shilpit, Mim-Moothed, Sniveling, Worm-Eyed, Hotten-Blaugh, Vile-Stoochie, Cally-Breek-Tattie?"

At this moment even Dan found himself at a loss for words, caught between wanting to laugh and simply gape in awe at the string off insult he'd just bared witness to. Daniela simply stood behind her brother in shock, not even sure how to process half of the words.

Junior stood where he was, giving the Scottsman a half stare with his eyes. "…You done?" He asked evenly.

"Aye."

"Good." And then Junior stuck the Scottsman across the face with a powerful left hook, sending the man flying back several feet. To the slight surprise of them all the Scottsman was able to roll with the punch, moving himself to land on his feet once he'd slowed down enough.

"So…baby-face has got some pep in his step after all." The Scottsman smirked as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Good. Hate ta think that the first swipe I take at you with mah sword it'd crush ya more than stab ya." He said, proudly holding said sword in front of himself to show off its impressive size, the light reflecting off the blade and highlighting the magic runes incrusted upon it.

Junior looked at the man's sword for a moment before reaching behind to grab the handle of his own blade to withdraw it, making the very deliberate choice to pull it out above and over his head in order to show off its size. The Scottsman's eyes followed the blade all the way up as its shadow cast over him before Junior let gravity take hold and pull the swords end downwards to the ground, the sheer weight of the iron blade launching up dust and rocks from its impact. Now it was Junior's turn to smirk proudly as the Scottsman gaped at the mass of Dragonslayer.

"Yeah…well…it's not just the size that counts!" The Scottsman yelled to him.

"And I'm sure your wife makes sure to tell you that quite often." Junior smirked, causing the Scottsman's face to turn completely red with rage.

" _Perhaps I used my comment about overcompensation a tad too soon."_ Daniela commented to herself dryly as she looked at the sight of the two with a half-opened glare that greatly resembled her mother's.

And speaking over overcompensation…

"I said this is my fight, Junior." Dan reminded the Reaper angrily.

Junior simply gave him a smirk back. "Since when did you ever feel the need for an invitation?" He asked.

Dan looked at him in confusion for a moment before smiling, getting the Reaper's meaning. He punched his fist into his hand. "I wonder…which sword is going to look the best when it comes home with me?" He commented.

Daniela gave Junior a quick tug on his sleeve to get his attention. "Brother…I thought we wished to avoid confrontation with this man." She whispered, gesturing to Dan. "Why are you so eager for the conflict now? The money can't be that important."

Junior said nothing back at first before turning his head back to his opponents. "Daniela…I want you to stay back for this one. Don't interfere."

"What?" Daniela said, partially shocked.

"I don't doubt that you can fight, Daniela." He said, not even looking back to her. "But now…I want you to see how we fight."

It could have just been her imagination, but for a split-second as he said this Daniela could have sworn she saw her brother's green eyes give a flash of red.

"Less talkin, more thrashin!" The impatient Scottsman yelled.

And with those words Junior left his sister's side, attacking the Scottsman in the blink of an eye. The swords of the two warrior's clashed, the single swings of both blades creating the echo that carried for miles across the rocky planes.

The two pushed their swords against each other with all their might before using that same force to push themselves away to avoid Dan's attack from above, the rapid-fire ecto-blasts that bombed the area.

Junior was the first to leap up, sailing past Dan before bringing his sword to come crashing down at the ghost.

Dan reacted quickly before the blade would strike, opening his jaw up wide to unleash his ghostly wail. In the same instant Junior countered with a wail of his own, the power which was the first thing he'd ever learned when he became the Demon Reaper, the first time he'd ever fought Dan.

The two wail clashed and the resulting collision at such close range caused an explosion which knocked the two back down to the ground. Dan hit the ground first and this time it was the Scottsman's turn to go after him. The warrior dived his sword straight into the ghost's back as he attempted to get up. And the blade did indeed go through, but not by severing through any flesh. Dan's spectral flesh morphed itself to open a hole right through his back and chest, causing the Scottsman's blade to pass harmlessly through him and become stuck in the ground. Dan's head then turned a full 180-degrees to face the warrior, a large smile plastered across his face.

"Oh boy." The Scottsman said, knowing what was coming.

Both of Dan's arms bent back at an impossible angle and blasted the warrior back with ecto energy. The Scottsman when flying back but was able to grab the trigger of his gun leg, opening fire on his two combatants as he landed on his back.

Dan threw up an ecto-shield dome around himself to deflect the barrage, getting the feeling that whatever rounds the Scottsman was using had the ability to hurt ghosts too, given that there'd be no point in firing at him otherwise.

Junior however did not even bother with any defenses and allowed as many of the bullets as possible to hit him. The wounds bled green for just a second before the Nergal flesh resealed itself. Both Dan and the Scottsman could then see the bullets moving under the Reaper's demon skin, traveling their way across his body as they made their way to his left arm. Junior then pointed this arm at the two of them, transforming it into basically a minigun. The chambers of his literal hand cannon spin rapidly as they fired right back out the rounds that'd shot him, along with a mix of Junior's own bodily made ammunition for good measure.

Dan, knowing full well from past experience that these rounds would penetrate his shield, turned intangible and dove under the ground to avoid the maelstrom of bullets.

The Scottsman took a more direct approach, swinging his sword with speed unexpected from a man of his build to block and deflect the bullets as he slowly made his way towards Junior.

When it became clear that the minigun would soon be of little use to him Junior gave up on it, transforming it back to normal before grabbing his sword with both hands as he charged at the approaching Scottsman.

The heavy blade struck the Scottsman's, the metals ringing as he did so. Junior struck again and again, each time with the rune sword blocking his blows but pushing the Scottsman back a bit from the impact of each hit. However, though he had the Scottsman by the ropes it was clear that Junior was the one at a disadvantage. Though Junior showed greater strength than most by even just being able to lift and wield such a heavy blade when most would fail greatly, Dragonslayer was still a large and cumbersome weapon. Each swing took time and a lot of energy to pull back and strike again. It was not made for quick rapid combat but rather for single decisive blows that would destroy whatever it hit in a single swing. But with the Scottsman's rune incrusted sword being virtually indestructible that was not going to happen. Not so long as the warrior was able to continuously block him with his much faster blade and his arms could take the pressure.

However, and whether it was fortunate or unfortunate is up for debate, the stalemated sword fight was soon broken up by the cracking of the ground under them. The cracks glowed green as the rocks continued to break before the ground finally exploded open with Dan's piercing wail.

Both Junior and the Scottsman then found themselves tackled and sent sailing off to opposite directions. Their attacker was Dan, or to be more accurate, two of Dan's duplicates; copies split off from the original. A third as powerful as the true Dan but far from being called weak.

The duplicate smashed Junior into one of the many standing rock formations that littered this section of the Underworld and with great joy did not let up, smacking the Reaper's head full side-to-side with swing after swing of his fists.

But the duplicate gave one punch too many and Junior opened his mouth up wide, catching the duplicates fist in his sharp green teeth. The duplicate gave out a scream in pain as it continued to beat Junior's head in an attempt to free itself, but Junior would not let go, crunching down on the bleeding hand to keep the duplicate from getting away. Dragonslayer in hand Junior cleaved the massive blade clean through the duplicates body, feeling no resistance as he ripped the copy in half.

The two halves fell away from each other as they faded away in a flash of green and white and Junior spat the taste of Dan's glove out of his mouth. He looked over to the far edge of the rocky valley where the Scottsman fight his own duplicate. He was not allowing the ghost to get any hits in on him as the two grappled with each other, with the Dan duplicate holding back both of the Scottsman's wrists as he attempted to bring his sword down. While the two were fairly evenly matched in strength the duplicate seemed to have a small edge, doing its best to slowly move the warrior's blade closer to its owner's own neck.

With his opponents distracted with each other Junior saw his opportunity. Spinning the hilt of his sword to give it some speed Junior tossed the mighty blade like a dagger towards the two men.

The Scottsman, being the one facing the incoming blade and thus being the first to notice, reacted quickly. In an unorthodox and unexpected move the Scottsman head-butted the broad side of his sword, causing it to smash into the duplicate's face, breaking its nose. In the split second of shock from the sudden pain the Scottsman was able to free himself from the duplicates grasp and leap out of the way of the sword's path. Dragonslayer impaled the ghost, killing it instantly and causing it to fade away as its brother had.

There was to be no reprieve for the Scottsman however, as he had to quickly use his sword to block the now metal claws that Junior sported against him. The Reaper took several swipes at his opponent, some of which were too fast for the Scottsman to block, as evidenced to cuts that suddenly appeared across his cheeks.

"Well, yer a scrappy lad, ain'tcha?" The Scottsman complimented as he blocked Junior's attacks. But now he went on the offensive, bring the rune sword down at Junior with such speed and force the Reaper had just barely managed to catch it in his clawed hands. But this move had given Junior some leverage, as he spun himself around the blade to swipe upwards at the Scottsman with the sudden axe-tail he sprouted from his behind. The Scottsman managed to dodge the attack, though it was just a hair from splitting nose right down the middle, but unfortunately for him that was not the only intent of the Reaper's attack, as Junior released his hold on the Scottsman's blade so that he could fall and grasp the handle of his own weapon. Before he could even react Junior brought Dragonslayer sharply upward, striking the rune sword with enough force to knock it out of the Scottsman's hands and send it spinning upwards.

His target disarmed, this was now Junior's chance, which of course meant that before he could take his next swing the moment was ruined by Dan, the real one this time, bolting down from the sky, flying into the two with enough force to create a small crater from the impact, sending dust and debris up everywhere.

As the Scottsman recovered his blade to swing at the ghost and Dan and Junior re-exchanged blows, Daniela stood off on the sidelines, completely wide-eyed and speechless. Not even in the bar, surrounded by freaks, aliens, and monsters, had she felt this out of place. And this small. She already knew that she had much to learn and so much more to grow. But a fight like this one before her…it was on a completely different level than she could even have imagined. The battle had barely been going on for a few minutes now and already she was having difficulty keeping up. Just the different fighting styles and personalities in this fight…

Dan fought like she'd have immediately expected him to: a sadistic brute. But the sheer power he threw around more than made it clear why. And the Scottsman, whom she'd just assumed to be some braggart human who needed to be put in his place, fought with skill and strength that spoke just as loudly as his own mouth, easily keeping up with two incredibly powerful Underworld beings.

And Junior…he seemed to fight somewhere in-between the two, though he seemed to slip in and out of the graceful style needing for shapeshifting and the urge to just beat on his opponent, be it by his sword (which was basically a sharp club) or his fists.

And as she watched the three men fight, Daniela couldn't help but feel some doubts about her own ability. Hard as she tried, she simply could not see herself ever becoming on par, or ever even close, to warriors like these. Like her brother. Like her mother.

Daniela was then shaken out of her thoughts when an ecto-blast struck the ground a few feet from her, followed by several more. Looking back over to the fight she could see that the blasts had come from Dan trying to hit Junior through rapid fire. From what she could tell Junior had purposefully blocked some of them, both with his sword and own body. And from the way he was glaring at Dan, he did so to prevent her from being struck by the ghost's negligent attack.

"What?" Dan asked Junior as the Reaper continued to shoot him a dirty look. "It's not like I hit her."

His glare sharpening a bit in irritation Junior took another swing at Dan with his sword, Dan dodging back quickly to avoid being hit. The Scottsman interjected, taking a clean swing at Junior's open back. The attack barely broke the skin but Junior certainly felt it nonetheless. Annoyed at leaving himself open like that Junior made sure not to repeat the mistake again, sprouting a wing in sacrifice to block the Scottsman's second swing. While the rune sword cut off the wing Junior bent over and ripped the Scottsman's gun leg away from his body, then taking aim with the weapon and firing the rapid barrage at Dan to keep him at a distance.

The Scottsman nearly fell over when he made this move, but was no stranger to fighting with only one leg, keeping his balance well enough to take another few swings at Junior. With his free hand Junior used his own sword to block to Scottsman's attacks, but knowing full well that his speed would soon be nowhere up to the task when wielding Dragonslayer one-handed, Junior didn't try to keep it up for long, choosing instead to use the weapon's weight and mass to suddenly knock the Scottsman back when their blades made contact.

For a moment Junior was able to knock the Scottsman off balance and halt his attacks. But this victory was short lived, as Junior still had his other opponent to deal with. And unfortunately the moment he'd spent dealing with the Scottsman had been long enough from Dan to get above him and unleash another powerful wail, this time which Junior took the full hit of.

"Brother!" Was what Junior could have sworn he heard Daniela scream as sonic attack tore through his body and nearly deafened him. The force itself was enough to push junior down on his hands and knees.

Having fought Dan a number of times before Junior was used to the effects of the Ghostly Wail and was more than able-bodied enough to soak up a single hit from it. But this was something Dan was well aware of and prepared for. For when his wail ended the ghost gathered up the ecto-energy from his body into a bright green ball between his hands before thrusting his arms forward and unleashing a blast of power greater than any he'd delivered throughout the course of the battle.

Whether or not the Scottsman noticed the blast that was headed straight for the Reaper was irrelevant, as the barrel chested warrior had already leapt up surprisingly high for a man with only one leg, sword upside-down in his hands as he moved to impale the Reaper where he kneeled.

Involuntarily Junior's body tensed itself, bracing for impact.

But to the surprise of his slowly reopening eyes, that impact never came.

Looking upwards Junior saw the green fiery blast of his ghostly rival was no longer approaching. Not to say that it wasn't still there. The blast had simply…stopped. Hanging in midair as its trail led the way up to the frozen laughing face of Dan.

Standing up and looking over to the Scottsman, Junior saw that the same fate had befallen his target as well, as the warrior simply hung frozen in the air, the sword he was driving down with all his might stopped where it was along with the rest of him.

Daniela was no different. Standing yards away from the battle she also gave not a single movement, her hands staying cupped over her mouth as she'd been reacting to the hits Junior had and was about to receive.

Everything else around Junior, though it was nothing but rocks and dirt under a red sky, Junior could tell it was all unmoving as well. Even after the chaos of his battle with Dan and the Scottsman, Junior could tell that the still quiet all around him was too unnatural.

Though that isn't to say he didn't recognize it.

"I didn't need your help, Clockwork." Junior said in annoyance.

"I'm sure you didn't." Said the ghost that floated above him.

Drifting calmly as he passed the frozen Dan's energy blast the purple cloaked master of time made his way to the reaper, his blue ghostly tail trailing off a bit behind him. As he approached he was a man in the prime of his life, but a second later and he had the appearance of an old man, something Junior doubted he would ever get used to.

"What do you want, Clockwork?" Junior asked as he walked over to pick up his sword. While he was angry at the ghost for interfering in his fight he wasn't stupid or prideful enough to deliberatly keep himself at a disadvantage.

"I happened to be in the area and saw that you were here too." Clockwork said simply, now in the form of a toddler version of himself. "A man can't stop by and say hi to an old friend?"

"You're my dad's friend, Clockwork. Not mine." Junior stated bluntly.

"Of course. My apologies." Clockwork said, seemingly just shrugging off Junior's rudeness. "You and I have known each other of so long that it occasionally slips my mind that there are eras where that hasn't happened yet."

Junior gave Clockwork a slightly uneasy look back but did his best not to show it. "Yeah, yeah, you've mentioned my future self before. Not that you ever really tell me anything important or even specific about what'll happen to me."

"If you really cared that much about knowing the future you would have allowed yourself to get some sleep last night." Clockwork pointed out, now back to being a man in his prime.

Junior gave a slightly surprised look but it passed quickly, as he had to remind himself that _"Of course he would know about that."_

"Is that why you're here?" Junior asked. "Have you finally found a way to get these damn things out of my head?"

"I exist in all points of time at once, Junior." He pointed out. "If I didn't have the answer then, do you expect that I'll have the answer now?"

Junior gave the ghost a slightly annoyed look but ended it with a sigh, knowing that he had a point.

"Sorry, Junior. But to answer your question, I'm here mainly to just check up on Dan." The now elderly ghost explained. "He does exist in this timeline because of me after all."

Looking up to where Dan hung in midair, Junior said "His parole must have a lot of breathing room considering half the crap he's pulled since you sent him loose down here."

"Having him roam free in the Underworld realms, where the chaos and destruction he created is only slightly worse than the norm, is preferable to having him loose in what remains of the mortal world. I have the ability to end his existence at any time, but as your father is fond of saying, a deal's a deal." Giving Junior the reminder that Dan was only sent free because of his own destructive rampage in Halloweentown.

Junior said nothing for a minute as he looked across to where Daniela stood before looking back to Dan. "Is he going to be a problem?" Junior asked.

"You tell me." Clockwork said.

"That's not funny, Clockwork." Junior glared.

"I was not referring to your visions, Junior. Merely asking whether you'll allow Dan to become a problem." The toddler Clockwork clarified. After getting a simple grunt from Junior in response, Clockwork said "You don't like me very much, do you Junior?"

"Well considering the first time we met you basically forced me to abandon Mimi and Jeff and leave them at the mercy of HIM and even in the years since then you've been surprisingly and possibly even deliberately unhelpful with every problem I've come to you with, including the one that's basically your fault I'm even dealing with." Junior said, tapping at his skull.

Clockwork waited until Junior stopped pointing at his skull before answering. "You do honestly surprise even me sometimes, Junior. Most people throughout history would have given everything they have to offer for the power of foresight. Yet you from day one have had nothing but distain for it."

"Yeah, well, I'm not most people." Junior snipped at him. "And even if I were, you of all people should know that some people don't like spoilers."

"Or that they don't like thinking about the decisions they could make when presented with the chance." Clockwork commented.

Junior held his tongue with what he wanted to say back to the ghost, though in his shame that did not take much effort, as he remembered well his dream from the other night. The feel of Mandy's skin against his own and the sweet scent that drifted off her body that he inhaled with every kiss.

"…You haven't told my dad, have you? About any of this?" Junior asked, a bit more toned down.

"You asked me not to tell, so I haven't." Clockwork assured him.

"…Thank you." Junior said honestly.

Clockwork floated a bit closer to Junior, again in his prime as he placed a comforting hand on the Reaper's shoulder. "He could help you, you know." He said.

"I don't want to hear it." Junior said, pushing the ghost's hand away.

"Junior, what do you think will happen?" Clockwork pushed on. "That he'll hate you? That he'll shame you before the rest of your family? That your family will forbid you from ever showing your face again? Does that sound like something Grim would do to you?"

"Why don't you tell me, Clockwork?" Junior said angrily. "You're the one who knows everything."

"I see like you do, Junior." Clockwork explained calmly. "I see possibilities. Though while you only see one at a time through your dreams, I see them all. Every twist and turn things might, or might not, take. And what determines the way that time flows are the choices and decisions that those involved make. That's why I didn't destroy young Danny in order to prevent the creation of his future self, your rival. That's why I didn't destroy you or your sister to prevent the creation of the Demon Reaper. Everyone deserves a chance. Why are you so convinced that your family, the people who love you, will not give you that chance?"

Junior said nothing at first, his silence adding to that of the frozen time all around them. His grip on the handle of his sword tightened, but not to swing it. It was simply out of anger.

"You think I don't want to tell them?" Junior sat bitterly. "And you think I'm not telling them just because I'm afraid of what they'll think? There is so much I want to say to them. So much that would make my life easier if it was all just out in the open! I want to tell my dad about these future visions and that all that pride he had in me for finally being able to use my Reaper abilities when I was a child was just because the two of you took a leisurely stroll through my stomach. I want to tell Daniela and Manny that their real father is this flaming haired asshole. That he's dangerous, unstable, and will lead them to ruin and that I know that because he's probably the closest thing to a best friend I have out here! Likely because we have so much in common and Daniela shouldn't be following me around either quite frankly! I want to tell my mother that I've obsessed and fantasized over her since I was fifteen and that I have an Oedipus complex the likes of which would make the original Oedipus go "Dude, that's fucked up." And they had kids together! All this and more would just make my life so much easier if I didn't have to hide it anymore, regardless of whether or not they'd hate me for it. And do you know why I haven't told any of them?" Junior said, getting in Clockwork's face. "Because maybe for once in my afterlife I've decided to actually do the selfless thing and not make my problems everyone else's!"

Junior stood mere inches from Clockwork's face, panting as he finished letting the rage fume from his body. And Clockwork, despite the Reaper's screams, still spoke with the same calm voice he always did, but with almost a small tone of sadness in it.

"She doesn't hate you either." He said.

Junior gave a pause at the ghost's word before just turning away from him. "Restart time, will ya? I want to get back to what I was doing."

"If you insist." Clockwork shrugged. "Though I do hope you'll think over what I've said."

"Yeah, whatever." Junior brushed him off. "You know, if you and my future self are such good friends, why don't you go bother him for a while. I'm sure he's not doing anything important."

"Funny…" Clockwork commented. "He says the same thing about you."

Junior turned back to face him but Clockwork was now nowhere to be seen. Noise started to come back into Junior's world as time began to move again.

"Fucking chronomancers." Junior muttered under his breath.

The Reaper's attention was soon brought back to the current situation as Dan's attack finally connected with the ground, creating an explosion of such force that it caused small earthquake through the land.

When the smoke cleared the Scottsman found himself lying just a few feet away from the impact sight, where his sword stood stuck into the ground, noticeably without Junior pinned under it.

Both Dan and the Scottsman looked at the area in confusion, completely unaware of what had just happened. It was Daniela, with her eyes frantically scanning around the area in fear that he'd been vaporized, who saw Junior first, standing just a bit away from the blast area.

"Brother!" She exclaimed in relief. "You're ok!"

The other two both looked over to where Junior was. "Oy!" The Scottsman yelled. "How'd ya get over there?"

Junior said nothing in response, simply turning his body towards the warrior and pointing his arm at him, transforming it into a single barreled cannon. A projectile launched from the cannon at the Scottsman. The warrior was prepared to dodge the attack but suddenly the projectile expanded, forming into a large black hand. The palm stuck the Scottsman and pushed him back until they both hit a large rock formation. The fingers of the hand then dug into the rock, trapping the warrior against it.

"What…? What is this?!" The Scottsman yelled as he struggled to break free, only for the hand to constrict further on him. "This ain't very sportsmanlike of you!"

Dan, having been caught just as off-guard by Junior's sudden move, flew down to the Reaper. "You mind telling me what the hell that's about?" Dan said, letting some his annoyance show through.

"Fight's over." Junior said simply as he sheathed his sword back onto his back. "I'm taking the guy in for the reward on his head."

"And what makes you think I'm just going to let you decide that the fight is over?" Dan asked daringly.

"Because since when do you want to fight someone who's not even trying anymore?" Junior pointed out.

Dan looked at Junior in confusion over his sudden attitude change, as for him it had just been a minute ago that Junior was just as into the fight as he was. But still he could tell that Junior was being honest and that if he were to attack him again Junior would fight back but only for self-preservation, not just for the thrill of the fight.

"What's up with you today?" Dan asked. "That's twice now you've attempted to blow me off because you didn't want to fight. Since when is that a thing with you?" Dan then looked over to Daniela, standing across the field from them. "This wouldn't have anything to do with your little traveling companion, would it?"

"You stay away from her." Junior warned him.

Dan gave a little smirk, happy to see that the Reaper still had some of his fire in him. "Relax, Junior. I don't have the patience to deal with kids, not since Danielle (guessing your mother knew that, given the name. Heh. Daniella.). I don't feel like taking time out of my day to deal with all their crap. But…seeing as how I haven't heard any news during the past few years of some new ghost child terrorizing the Underworld, I'm guessing your mother messed up somewhere down the line and raised our child to be more like her sister than you."

Junior felt the need to deck the phantom but repressed the urge.

"So I'll tell you what…" Dan continued. "I'll forgo the fight this time, but only so you'll still be around to toughen my daughter up a bit. Turn her into something close to the little terror I fought when you were a kid."

"What makes you think that she isn't already?" Junior retorted.

"The fact that she listened when you told her to sit back and watch." Dan smiled. "I'm not too worried. My genes will kick in any day now. Let's just see if you can speed up the process."

And with that and a roar of mad laughter Dan bolted upwards into the sky, leaving a glowing green trail across the endless red.

Junior waited a minute, watching the ghost's departure carefully to make sure he was gone. Once he was certain he turned and walked towards the still struggling and now loudly swearing Scottsman. Daniela quickly ran up to join him, now that the battle was clearly done with.

"Brother, are you alright?" She worriedly asked him, scanning his body to see any injury but to her surprise none were to be found, his Nergal biology already having healed everything.

"I'm fine, Daniela." Junior said simply, without really looking at his little sister. "Let's just focus on the job."

Daniela looked at her brother with some worry. Physically he seemed fine but he also seemed partially out of it and unfocused. Not to mention the obvious question lingering in the back of her mind.

"Brother…could you have done that at any time?" Daniella asked cautiously as she looked over the trapped Scottsman.

Junior said nothing back, seemly ignoring the question as he pulled out the Scottsman's wanted poster.

"Alright, big fella, let's see who wants to have your head mounted on their-…" Junior then paused when he saw who placed the bounty. "Oh!"

"What?" Daniela asked.

Again, Junior did not answer back, though not because he was ignoring her. His face as he looked over the poster showed an interesting mix of emotion, between happiness and wondering if he should be so happy.

"Tell me something, Daniela…" He asked, turning to her with his mood slightly elevated. "You ever been to Aku City?"

 **Chapter end**

* * *

Author's notes: So…yeah…Junior's got some self-hatred he's working through. Honestly, between this story and Empire of Death if it wasn't for the fact that I try to make Junior look like a badass some people might think I hate the guy given how often I put him through the wringer.

So in case I suck at actually explaining things in-story, when Grim and Clockwork traveled into the Demon Reaper's stomach during the Halloweentown Incident in order to save Junior's soul some of their power was absorbed by him, only in such a minor amount that the abilities he gained did not manifest until much later. From Grim he gained better control over his reaping abilities, which up until then he could barely even access before, even after he got Minnie's Nergal powers. And from Clockwork he gained two abilities: visions of a possible future, though only when he's asleep, and to not be affected by Clockwork's timestops, thus why Clockwork didn't need to place one of his medallions around his neck. The main justification I have for this idea is that if Junior could gain ghost powers from just fighting Dan then having the master of time and the Grim Reaper walking around in his stomach would have some effect on him.

Next stop: Aku City!

* * *

QTP: Is Dan really the closest thing Junior has to a friend? Why didn't Dan just reveal who he was to Daniela? Who was Clockwork referring to when he said "She" doesn't hate Junior? How will Junior handle Dan wanting him to make his daughter just like him? How is it that Junior and Clockwork possibly become friends in the future? How much did Junior's prophetic dreams influence his decision to leave home when he was sixteen? What wacky hijinks are in store for Junior and Daniela in Aku City?


	6. Aku City

**Part 6: Aku City**

 **Lord Razer:** Well, I can't speak for Bleedman or Griddles' own continuity in the actual  Grim Tales story but here's how it tends to go in mine, based off what happened in the original show: There exist different Grim Reapers for different planets, with Grim being the Grim Reaper of Earth and Morg for example being the Grim Reaper of Mars, with the other planets in the solar system not having any other Grim Reapers because Morg destroyed them, thus you'd have to go pretty far outside the solar system to find another planet with its own Grim Reaper. Now, on Earth Grim is the one true Grim Reaper, the one true Death.

Beings like the Death from DC comics' Sandman series or the Death both Thanos and Deadpool are in love with do exist but they are not as powerful as Grim, nor do they have the same level of authority. I actually have considered making those two in particular Grim and Jack's sisters, with the Sandman's Death being the youngest and having the best relationship with the two and Marvel's Death being the one Grim doesn't like to talk about because he felt their parents always favored her because she was so perfect (kind of like Junior and Minnie).

I can't speak for Regular Show's Death as I honestly have not watched very much of that show but someone like Adventure Time's Death, since I always figured the show takes place in a post-apocalyptic Earth, that Death could simply be the future version of Grim. The Soul Eater's Death does not exist in this continuity simply because their world is too different to fit the mold of the PPGD and Grim Tales worlds and the same honestly goes for Bleach and Black Butler. I will say however that they can be considered alternate realities to Grim Tales, like the Soul Reapers are what would have happened if Grim decided to share his powers so that other people could help him, as opposed to all that power and responsibility belonging to solely one person.

As for your other question, I wouldn't say Junior's lust for Mandy outweighs any love he has for Minnie, but it does weigh more heavily on his mind as it is something he is more ashamed of and can't help but think of most of the time.

 **AMTT94:** Well, I won't spoil too much right now but this chapter and the next should make it clear what Junior and Chi think about each other. And as for the children, this story takes inspiration from Afterbirth so that can give you a pretty good guess as to what happened to them.

 **nightmaster000:** Thank you. Figured the Scotsman might be a good character to have Junior fight since apparently he was enough of a threat in the original  Samurai Jack show for Aku to put a bounty on and clearly was just as skilled as Jack, given how even the fight was between them.

 **DPSS:** That's a good question. Why didn't Junior use anything other than his sword and some basic shapeshifting? There is an actual reason, don't worry.

1\. True.

2\. Yeah, I can't imagine he'd even be a very good one, especially not when being half Vlad Plasmius and we saw how he treated Dani.

3\. That duh is well deserved because you're right.

4\. True.

5\. That is more or less how it goes.

6\. Exactly.

7\. Fair enough, though like Clockwork pointed out, Junior avoided sleeping last night because of his previous vision.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Don't worry, your guesses are pretty accurate for the most part, though I won't say how accurate simply out of fear of spoilers. And the 180-degree head turn, I'd forgotten he could do that until I went back and watched  The Ultimate Enemy and I knew I had to put that in the fight.

Also, sorry about the length of the fight seen. I know you said it wasn't too bothersome but this is what constructive criticism is for, so I can work to improve my writing on this stuff. Honestly I think this is a problem with a long of the stuff I write, where I keep going back and forth thinking I either have not written enough to justify what is happening or that I'm dragging on the scene too long and need to get to the point already. Thankfully I don't think I'm the only writer that has this problem.

 **Nikola the Einstein:** Yeah, the Scotsman did that in the show too and honestly I don't think there's any way to make that look dignified. That being said I wouldn't want to fight him.

1\. Very true, though honestly even Junior's relationships with his family members are not the best right now, given how long he's been away.

2\. Yeah, Dan's the kind of guy who'd care more about the benefits of being a parent than any of the work that goes into it. And given that the only things he views as benefits of being a parent is having people out there who might be able to give him a good fight while their very existence proves he fucked Mandy and got her pregnant, that doesn't really leave him with any reason for why he should care about them beyond that.

3\. You're correct, though while Junior is known for shagging, princesses might not be the correct term.

4\. Basically.

5\. I do really like the idea of them playing poker, maybe with Prismo and the Phoenix Force joining into the game too, just to imagine what conversations they could all have. If you have any ideas for this, please let me know because this could be a really fun idea to write for.

6\. Yeah, that's pretty damn accurate.

7\. Ok, I seriously might need to use some of these ideas in a future story because these are really fun.

* * *

 **Chapter start:**

"…Baby-faced, skinny-britched, empty-headed animal food trough wipers ain't fit fer me ta fart in yer general direction! Yer skimpily dressed hamster of a mother should'a tossed ya out with wit the bathwater when ye were younger and I bet yer elderberry smellin' father won't even have noticed!"

"For the love of all things Tartarus, will you shut up?!" Daniela yelled at the bellowing Scotsman.

The ghost girl and her older brother walked down the littered and foul smelling streets of Aku City. From Junior's back he'd spawned numerous tentacle-like appendages to keep the Scotsman restrained as he dragged the warrior along behind them. The Scotsman's broad frame cleared a path through the garbage as they walked, his body leaving behind a long trail of empty space between all the trash.

Daniela was nursing a horrendous headache. The Scotsman's yelling was the main contributor but there was also all the noise coming from the city itself. Every building they passed was practically shaking as she could feel the blasting music coming from within the numerous bars, dance clubs, and strip clubs this city seemed to possess. Adding onto that were the many loud construction machines that passed through the street, of which seemed to only exist to make noise as none of them worked to fix the cracks in the streets or expand the city in any way, and the hundreds of flying cars that speed along over them throughout the red sky, each engine roaring as if to claim its dominion over the others.

As the Scotsman continued to blather on until her eardrums felt like they were going to burst, Daniela turned to Junior. "Brother, could we not have just teleported to Lord Aku's palace?"

Junior seemed to almost ignore her, as he continued on walking without even acknowledging her.

"Brother?" She said again, a bit louder.

This time Junior did turn his head, looking at her with some confusion, as if he had no idea what she just said.

Reaching up under his hood Junior pulled out two earbuds. "Oh. Sorry about that, Daniela. I was listening to _"Jaws of Fire"_ to drown out all the noise. It gets pretty loud around here, you know."

"I noticed." Daniela said with a bit of irritation. "…Jaws of Fire?"

"Yeah. You know. It's that duet song Chip Skylark did with Ember McLain after he died." Junior said. "You wouldn't think pop and rock would go so well together but I think they pulled it off rather nicely."

"You listen to Chip Skylark?" The Scotsman asked, finally putting a hold on his shouting.

"Hell yeah, man. Dude's been giving me free downloads of all his songs ever since I stole his teeth back from the anti-Tooth Fairy." Junior said proudly, waving his skull-phone in his hand. "You'd think the anti-Tooth Fairy would be all about giving away teeth, but no, she just wants adult teeth. You'd think she'd at least rob you while doing so." Junior murmured for a bit. "I'm sorry, what was it you said, Daniela?"

"I was asking why we did not just teleport to this realm's palace instead of the edge of the city." Daniela repeated. "Not only is it loud and unpleasant here but this long walk to the palace leaves us very exposed. Someone could try to take the Scotsman in order to claim the bounty for themselves."

"Daniela, do you really think Aku, one of the Big Five most feared rulers in the Underworld, just lets people teleport into his home?" Junior asked. "Heck, we can't even teleport in the city. There's a seal placed across the entire area. Anyone other than Aku tries to force their way through, 1. It won't work, and 2. Aku will know where _they_ are and come after them."

"Oh." Daniela said, feeling slightly ashamed of her ignorance. "I…I didn't not know about that. Mother never taught us about it."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised." Junior said, signaling for them to keep walking. "The Land of Death pretty much follows the same rule, where dad's and my own scythe portals are the only way to get directly in and out of the castle. I imagine mom just didn't tell you two because she didn't want either of you to get any stupid ideas in your head and take the scythe for a joyride."

"Well, Manny I'm sure would have but I wouldn't." Daniela said.

Junior shot her a sideways smirk.

"I wouldn't!" She insisted.

"Whatever you say, lil Valkyrie." Junior smiled.

Memories from Hela's realm went through her mind and Daniela quickly fell silent. Junior was almost tempted to laugh but felt he'd teased his little sister enough, at least for now.

"Anyway, I know HIM has something similar protecting his realm as well, though for obvious reasons I don't know if it's anything beyond his own power that gets people in and out." Junior continued. "Walker and Hunson never bothered to do anything like that with their realms. They don't care who gets in. All that matters is that no one gets out."

"Has your…work…ever brought you into one of those other realms?" Daniela asked.

"Once or twice." Junior said casually. "Hunson's pretty lenient and doesn't really put bounties on people. Walker posts bounties all the time so he's very good for business. Same with Aku, though most of his bigger enemies with heavier bounties are long since taken care of. Captain Kilt here is pretty much the last with a longtime price on his head." Junior said, pointing behind them to the Scotsman. "According to his poster's date Aku's been after him since before even I was born."

"Aye. An he'll be comin' up after me again soon as I escape." The Scotsman said as he continued to struggle against the tight appendages around his body. "That is if I don' shove mah sword and whatever remain ah you two up whatever it is on his body dat da sun don't shine!"

Junior smiled, though didn't look back at the man. "Yes, well, as long as I get paid I have no problem with repeat jobs. Hell, even if Aku doesn't pay me the first job he might let me keep the rune sword if I ask. His tastes seem to be more Japanese than Celtic."

"Ya keep yer boney mitts off mah sword! It's bad enough you're lettin' yer skinny babysitter carry it around! Bet she's never handled a real weapon in her life."

Daniela, whom had both the broadsword and the Scotsman's removed gun-leg strapped to her back, nearly turned to snap back at the warrior but Junior stopped by placing his hand on her back and keeping her facing forward. "Don't." He said, softly but sternly. "Pride doesn't mean anything if its easily threatened." Daniela looked at him for a moment, wanting to backtalk him, but soon calmed herself, knowing that he was right.

The ghost teen was about to take another step forward but Junior keep his hold on the back of her shirt. Just as she was about to question what he was doing a flying car zoomed right past them, coming within mere inches of her body.

And then another.

And another.

And another.

And then a whole heaping load of them, one after another, travelling several miles per hour as the patrons in the backseats of each vehicle shot out the windows and opened fire at the cars in front of them. Given the erratic way they were all firing it was impossible to say if the lasers were hitting their intended targets or if it even mattered to the shooters what they hit, so long as their shots hit something.

Once the cars had gotten a few blocks away from the group the first car was hit and crashed into the side of a building.

Then the next car crashed into it.

Followed by the next one.

And the next one.

And then all the rest, no one bothering to slow down as they rammed into each other at high speed, exploding on impact.

As the massive fireball lit up that portion of the black and red city and the shockwave flew past the three, kicking up dirt and litter everywhere, Junior kept a board and unsurprised look throughout the entire thing.

"Either of you got a song you want to listen to as we walk?" Junior said casually, waving his phone in his hand as if they hadn't just seen several people randomly go out in a fiery explosion. "Daniela?" He asked again, his sister slowly turning away from the wreckage to look at him like he was insane. "No? How about you, big guy?"

The Scotsman, whom to Daniela's surprise seemed just as nonchalant about the city's madness as her brother, was silent for a moment as Junior continued to drag him along.

"…Ya got _"Shiny Teeth and Me"_?" The warrior asked.

Junior smiled at the guy and pulled the headphone jack out from the phone.

" _When I'm feeling lonely, sad as I can be, All by myself on an uncharted island in the endless sea…"_

* * *

 **Aku Palace, the very center of the Realm**

"…So the Monochromicorn stables have been cleaned." Jeff read off the checklist.

"Check." Demongo sighed.

"We already made sure the bedroom sheets were changed and the mattress was properly flipped."

"Check."

"We cleaned the guards' restroom, right?"

Demongo gave a shutter. "Check."

"Alright, then!" Jeff said as he scratched the last thing off the list. "Looks like we got everything you needed to do. I can take care of the rest. Chi was very insistent I get a good variety of muffins made before dinner and she asked that I repaint the new room again. Maybe something teal this time instead of emerald. What do think?"

"I don't get you sometimes, Jeff." Demongo said as he floated next to the spider. "I have no choice in the matter but you never seem to have any problem with all the work my master's child keeps piling up on us. Hell, you seem almost happy to do it."

"Ah, I'm just used to it." Jeff said happily. "When I was a kid my dad wasn't the easiest person to please, so I had to work extra hard to earn his approval. …Sure most of the time it didn't work and even after I'd clean his room, do his homework, pick his nose, wash his clothes, trim his nails, make him breakfast, lunch and dinner, eat a clown that was scaring him, clean Milkshakes' litterbox, bail him out of prison, help him play Tuxedo Man, and make his bed for him he'd still usually just scream at the sight of me and hit me with a shovel. But that just meant I had to try even harder!"

Demongo stopped and just stared at the giant arachnid for a minute in disbelief. "You know, one could write an entire book on the effects of child abuse after listening to your life story."

"Hm?" Jeff said, a genuinely happy smile still on his face, not seeming to have heard what the gasball had just said.

"Never mind." Demongo sighed, deciding it'd be best to change the subject. And almost as if on que one of the many red-clad servants that patrolled the palace approached the two.

"Hey, Stressball, you're needed at the front gate." The servant said, making no attempt to hide the disrespect in his voice. Demongo absolutely hated that all the servants took this tone with him but, sad to say, he'd gotten used to it. "Guy's here to drop off a big bounty for Aku."

"So?" Demongo asked in annoyance. "Check the bounty to make sure it's the real person and if it is then pay the hunter. What do you need me for?"

"It's Mandy's son." The servant explained.

The eyes of both Demongo and Jeff went wide. "Junior?" Jeff said. He looked over to Demongo, whom shared his surprise.

Demongo turned back to the servant. "I'll be right there." He said hurriedly. "You'd best inform Aku of his arrival as well."

"What about Chi?" The servant asked.

Demongo paused for a moment in thought. "…I'd rather he'd be gone by the time she finds out but I doubt we'll get that lucky. Knowing how paranoid she gets I'd imagine she already knows he's here."

* * *

Demongo and Jeff stood outside in the courtyard, just before the large iron gate that served as the entrance to palace behind the stone walls that surrounded the compound. Jeff stood slightly off to the side so that Demongo could perform his duties.

"Announcing the arrival of the bounty hunter hailing from the Land of Death, Grim Jr the second!" Demongo decreed loudly, giving the guards who stood protecting the walls their signal to open the gate.

As the iron gate slowly rose up from the ground, the voices of those behind the wall started to become louder. And it sounded like a cat being strangled.

"Icky Vicky!"

"Ooo ooo!"

"Icky Vicky!"

"Ooo ooo!"

"ICKY VICKY!"

Junior and the Scotsman bellowed with joyous laughter as their shared song ended, Daniela standing at the side of them with her burning red face hidden behind her fan in embarrassment.

"Ahh…" Junior finished laughing as he wiped a tear from his eye. "I had no idea you could sing so well, man."

"Aye. Ya got ta have some pretty good lungpower ta work wit bagpipes. Makes fer a good transferable skill when it comes to other musical forms." The Scotsman bragged, still being dragged along behind the Reaper as they entered the compound.

"Junior!" Jeff said excitedly as he scurried up to him, giving the Reaper a tight hug with his front two legs.

"Hey, Jeff." Junior said friendlily, not hugging back mainly because the spider had his arms pinned against his sides.

Jeff released his hold on him. "Wow, Junior, I think you've grown even more since I last saw you." He said as he raised his hand to compare their respective heights.

"Oh, I'm sure that's just the shapeshifting." Junior commented, resisting the urge to point out that the massive arachnid was still a foot taller than him even on all eight legs. "Demongo." Junior addressed the former general with a respectful nod of his head.

"A pleasure to see you too, Grim Hunter." Demongo bowed back (though given that his entire body is also his head he could have been trying to return the nod). "Though I must admit your arrival is rather unexpected."

"Yeah, sorry about that. This whole situation here just kind of came up suddenly." Junior explained.

Demongo looked over to the Scotsman. "I see…" Jeff also looked over at Junior's bounty but that was also when he noticed Daniela.

"Oh! Hello there? And who might you be?" Jeff greeted her, extending out one of his hands to her.

Daniela was understandably taken a little aback by this sudden creature before her. She'd heard of and seen pictures of the same spider species that Jeff hailed from, but seeing it in person was a bit more jarring, as she could see as the little hairs that covered Jeff's body, the beady-ness of his four wide eyes, and couldn't help but feel a little uneasy and nauseous with the way his two tusk-like teeth clicked together as he talked.

"Don't be rude, Daniela." Junior said simply, causing Daniela to realize how unintentionally silent she'd been.

"H-hello." She said back to Jeff, shaking his hand though not very much likely the smooth yet sticky feel of it.

"Daniela? Why that's a lovey name." Jeff said, not seeming to notice how off-put she was by his appearance. "Junior's mentioned before that he had another little sister but he's never here enough to tell me about you and your brother, so I'm really happy to finally meet you."

Demongo cleared his throat (or at least imitated the sound of doing so). "Yes, well, lest we forget the reasons for why that is." He interjected. "Thus, with that in mind, I imagine you would not object, Grim Hunter, to us moving to somewhere more private so that we may deal with your reward privately?"

"Might be a little late for that." Junior told him, looking past the entire group.

The rest of them were then alerted to the presence of a new person by Junior's comment, one whom just exited the palace. Daniela knew who this person was from her studies but had never actually seen her before with her own eyes. It was Aku's one and only child and future heir to his realm, Chi. Like her father her pink kimono clad body was solid black in color, save for her white face and emerald eyes. She had long red hair that stretched past her knees, the top cut into bangs and two long tendrils departed from the rest of her hair, along with a pink waterlily attached to the top and four black spikes that stuck out from the sides of her head. Her eyebrows were also made of literal fire, another of the many things she took after her father.

The woman had an air of some calm dignity around her and even Daniela had to admit that her beauty was quite breathtaking. Though she soon realized that everyone around her had fallen silent now that she was here.

"Chi." Junior greeted her, though Daniela could tell from his tone that he was somewhat reluctant to do so. "You're looking well."

Chi did not respond, at least not at first, taking a moment instead to look over the group in silence. By the look on Demongo and Jeff's faces they were almost afraid of what she would do.

"It hasn't even been a year yet since your last visit." Chi finally said, keeping a calm but stern voice as she spoke to Junior. "What are you doing back here so soon, Reaper?"

"I just have some business with your father." Junior said simply, gesturing to the Scotsman. "I'll be gone soon as it's finished."

"That's all?" Chi asked with a slight tone of accusation in her words.

"That's all." Junior stated, though by the look of it Chi didn't quite believe him.

"You couldn't have called ahead first to let us know you were coming?"

"Like I'm going to have the phone number of people who can travel via cellphone." Junior retorted.

"Then a letter. An emissary. A herald. Indian smoke signals, whatever. Just something to let us know. Almost feels like you're trying to cause us problems." The future Shoguness said with a glare.

"Chi…" Junior said, finally letting a bit of irritation come to his voice.

Daniela, as well as Jeff and Demongo, looked quickly back and forth between the two, worried they were about to start fighting.

But thankfully that confrontation never came, as the sudden voice that echoed throughout the compound stole all attention.

" **Ah, my dear daughter. Though you have grown much you still have yet to learn that protection of the home is no excuse for treating our guests badly."**

Tremors of vibration were felt under the feet of all present and soon followed by the emergence of five long black fingers breaking though the cobblestone floor, surrounding the Scotsman's entire body. Everyone, save for Junior and Chi, gave a frightened jump back as the fingers became as long and thick as five full grown men. Junior's tentacle appendages finally released their hold on the Scotsman to withdraw back into his body, given the warrior the briefest second of freedom before the finger clenched him tightly in their grip.

Fingers continued to rise from the ground until the full fist that held the Scotsman was revealed, and then further up they went as the rest of the being's body emerged. And as her eyes followed the being's increasing magnitude, Daniela's knees wobbled and caused her to nearly fall over in intimidation.

Standing before her was the black mass of Lord Aku himself, taller than even the palace itself and so high up that she could not even see the green of his face or the red of his fabled beard. Just the solid glow of his massive eyes and the endless hellfire that erupted from his eyebrows. His very presence oozed with power. Daniela had always figured that, when the day came that she'd meet another of the Big Five lords, that it'd mean little to her. After all her own mother was the most feared of them all, was she not? And yet before this being, a being her mother would never hesitate to call her lesser, Daniela felt so…insignificant.

Aku held the Scotsman up to his face. **"The infamous Scotsman. Wielder of the Celtic Rune Sword. A great outspoken critic of mine and all around troublemaker to my kingdom. The second most wanted man to ever make his presence known in my realm, and yet still considered tame by your very clan in lifestyle, to some irony. I was wondering when my searches for you could finally be put at an end."**

"Yeah? Well yer searches won't haveta keep on goin' much longer. Especially when I tear yer fancy eyebrowed head clean from yer shoulders and use it as a bath towel!" The Scottsman exclaimed, still struggling even while in the great ruler's clutches. "What a day that'll be, when yer kingdom comes after me on yer orders an finds its king being wiped back and forth between me-!"

Aku pressed his thumb against the Scotsman's chest, knocking the wind out of him mid-sentence and possibly even cracking his ribs slightly. **"You may rant all you wish, Scotsman. In fact, I welcome it, as it truly shows how the years have passed and changed us all. Had this been just a few decades ago you would not have had the chance to speak, as my thumb would have broken your neck by now with just the slightest flick. But today? No. For I am well aware of the many years I have ahead of me and am always looking for new ways to occupy my time!"**

Aku's dark laughed echoed throughout his realm and the second the Scotsman realized what Aku had in mind, Aku thrust in downward into the ground. His hand did not break through the cobblestone but rather phased through it, taking the Scotsman further and further down into the black depths of the demon's lair, placing him where he did all his other playthings.

Once he was done Aku brought his hand back up to the surface, not even a mark left on the ground to indicate where he'd sent the great warrior.

" **You have served me well this day, bounty hunter."** Aku said, addressing Junior, whom simply looked up calmly to the demon. **"Given how large the price was on the Scottsman, you understand that it will take some time to gather it all together. As such, I invite you and your consort to enjoy the hot springs and sake while my servants collect your payment."**

"Consort?!" Daniela accidentally blurted, getting something of a funny look from Demongo and Jeff, though Junior didn't seem to notice.

"Father!" Chi said in protest.

Aku looked down at his daughter's angry, yet pleading face but said nothing to her. **"I take it there is no need to remind you not to venture too far from the springs."** Aku asked Junior.

"Won't be a problem." Junior said respectfully.

Aku gave a nod at the Reaper's assurance and without another word stretched his body out and disappeared into his palace like a dark phantasm.

Chi continued with her angry glare at Junior but kept her silence towards him, knowing better than to go against her father's wishes. "Demongo! Jeff!" She barked, quickly gaining the attention of both. "I require you back inside the palace. Let's go." And she turned without another word and walked back to her home. She did not look back to see if they were following her, though that is because she knew she did not need to. Demongo floated quickly on after her, with Jeff following a moment later, taking a quick second to whisper "Good to see you again, Junior." before he left.

Once the two were left alone in the courtyard and the gate was reclosed Junior motioned for Daniela to follow him. "Come on. I know the way to the springs."

"R-right." Daniela said, trying to shake herself of the feelings meeting Aku had caused. As Junior led her around the main palace, Daniela looked up and around at the impressive, yet slightly confusing architecture. From what her mother had made her and Manny study about the other rulers of the Underworld, Aku was beaten and imprisoned long ago by a Japanese emperor when he attempted to conquer the mortal realm and later beaten by the emperor's son years later when he made the attempt again, nearly losing his life in the process. So one would imagine the great demon would hate anything to do with his rival's upbringing, yet the palace, and the smaller buildings that surrounded it such as the stables and guard quarters, had a very noticeable early Japanese look to them, with most being wooden structures slightly elevated off the ground with curved tiled roofs and sliding doors in place of more traditional ones. She also now noticed a surprising number of perfectly trimmed and well-nourished trees littered around the area, their green, red, and pink petals certainly a strange sight to see among all the black and dark red of this realm.

Looking up at the windows of the palace as she walked Daniela almost stopped in her tracks as, though one on one of the upper floors, she could have sworn that, just for a minute, she saw a pair of red eyes staring back at her. It was a soft red, nowhere near as burning as her mother's eyes. But the moment Daniela squinted to try and make it out better they disappeared from view.

Daniela blinked for a moment, wondering if she'd imagined it.

"Daniela, come on." Junior called back to her from a bit of a distance away, causing his sister to realize how much she'd slowed down.

"C-coming!" She said, quickly running to catch back up.

* * *

Junior slid the wooden door open, revealing the hot spring within. Lantern lights hung on the corners of the enclosed room, each pointing towards the center where number large rocks served to contain the steaming hot water that sat underneath the open red sky.

"Oh, my." Daniela commented, unable to help herself.

"Yep." Junior smiled. "Say what you will about Aku, his hot springs are the envy of the rest of the Underworld. Most realms are either too on fire or too incorporeal to sustain such a thing."

Daniela entered into the room, her clothes soon feeling more restrictive and heavy as the steam began to drench them. She then noticed Junior was about to close the door on her without coming inside himself.

"Brother, where are you going?" She asked.

Junior stopped closing the door. "Well this is a hot spring. Generally speaking, you're not supposed to wear any type of clothing when you get in. And since I doubt you are in a hurry to see me naked or want me to see you naked…"

A quick flash of pink flew across Daniela's features, as she had not even thought that far ahead and now could not help but think of Dan Phantom and Aku's first comments when they met her, thinking she was Junior's lover.

"No! Of course not." Daniela said, trying her best to sound offended by the very idea while hiding her blushing face.

"I didn't think so." Junior smiled. He then pointed to his right. "I'll be in the spring just next to this one. If something happens or you just really want to leave because you don't feel safe, scream or let out an ecto-flare or something noticeable and I'll come get you, alright? If not, then I'll ask one of Aku's handmaidens come get you after I've been paid."

Daniela quickly shook her head in agreement to his terms and Junior smiled and shut the door all the way. Daniela let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in and just stood there for a minute, wondering what she was getting so worked up about.

* * *

Junior slid down from the rocks into the heated water.

"Oh…" He said as he let his body get adjusted to temperature change. He'd felt the burn of literal fire and things much hotter so this water was nothing to him, but he usually was in much more stressful situations than this when that was the case so his body was fighting the heat. Actually relaxing was something he had to readjust to.

Once he got himself properly situated Junior's back started to open up, his shapeshifting flesh peeling apart to reveal his exposed spine to the water.

"Ooooohhhhhh yyyeeeaaaahhhhhhh…." Junior moaned as he sank further into the spring, his head tilting back against the rocks as he closed his eyes. "Right between the vertebrae…"

But then Junior's mood was slightly soured. He wasn't sure if it was a shift in the airflow or the smallest or noises, but Junior could just feel it. Someone was in the room with him.

Without even opening his eyes, now clenched in annoyance, Junior said "If you are another damn ghost trying to sneak up on me, I swear to God, I will eat you."

"Oh, well, I do hope that's not an offer you're reserving just for them."

Recognizing the voice Junior's eyes instantly popped open and he lifted his head up. Sitting on the rocks across from him was Aku. Or to be more accurate, Ikra, the green skinned, raven-haired woman whom was one of Aku's many different forms. Though for many reasons this form was a favorite of Junior's. The primary reason at the moment being her clothes and the fact that she wasn't wearing any.

"Mind if I join you?" She asked with a smile, the wetness of the steam giving her skin a slight shine to it.

Junior, with the sourness completely gone from his mood, smiled back. "Be kind of rude for me to say no, given that you own everything I see." He said as he gave a small wave of his hand to the pool.

"I'd rather own everything I see." Ikra smirked as she slid down into the water.

"You say that, but take it from a bounty hunter, the chase is half the fun." Junior said.

"Hm." Ikra chuckled as she moved to sit next to him. "Sake?" She asked, holding up the bottle and two small cups.

"Sure you want to waste that on me?" Junior asked. "That stuff's basically like water to a Reaper."

Ikra shrugged. "Not like I can't get more. I own the whole realm's supply."

"Well in that case, yes ma'am." Junior said excitedly. Ikra smiled and handed him his cup. She poured for him before then doing the same for herself. Junior downed the alcohol instantly, not tasting or feeling a thing as it went down. Still, he appreciated the gesture, as well as the moment of peace and silence he knew she was giving him. He gave a contented sigh. "You always did know how to get me to relax, Ikra."

"If by always you mean the one time then yes, I suppose I do." Ikra commented, taking a drink from her own cup. "Speaking of those fun times, I surprised to see that your little companion isn't in here with you. The few couples I've ever allowed in my springs usually can't keep their hands off each other once they take a dip."

"Okay, one, she's not my "companion", she's my little sister." Junior said sternly. "And two, that means I don't want ever hear or even think about her having sex until she's thirty and married, if that."

"Heh." Ikra gave a small chuckle. "Well, she would fit a little better into your type in that case."

"My type?" Junior asked with some confusion as he poured himself another cup.

Ikra looked at him with a smile and a knowing raised eyebrow. "Sindel. Hippolyta. Elsa. Me. I've got others I could list and they all most definitely fit a type. You, Junior, have a thing for powerful older women."

"What? …No. No…I…" Junior stammered for a minute as he tried thinking back to those he had slept with, racking his brain for someone who did not fit that pattern. "…Huh." He let out when none could be remembered.

"Relax, Junior, there's nothing wrong with having a type." Ikra assured him. "Well, except for when it gets you banned forever from the Mushroom Kingdom."

"You heard about that?"

"Oh, I laughed my ass off over that."

"She didn't tell me she was married." Junior defended.

"Would that have stopped you?" She asked.

"I…really like to think so."

Ikra chuckled again, taking a small sip from her sake cup. "Don't worry. I'm not jealous or anything. Heck, if you want I'll see if I can hook you up with someone. Most of the time these tastes are because you're after someone in particular but can't be with." She offered. "So…who does the mighty Grim Hunter have the hots for? Hera? Nephthys? Bubblegum? If it is any of them, trust me, you're better off without. Bitches, man."

The dream from the other night flashed through Junior's mind, so strongly did it that he could almost smell the scent that drifted off his mother's skin over the steaming water and taste her plush lips against his own. In the intensity of the moment Junior almost crushed the sake cup in his hand, though thankfully Ikra didn't seem to notice.

"Even if I did have a type, which I'm not saying I do, my love life is not what you came here to talk to me about, is it?" Junior said, making sure to quickly steer the conversation away from this topic.

"It's not?" Ikra asked, feigning ignorance. "I thought it was pretty clear why I joined you in here." She said, waving her legs playfully around in the water and brushing up against his own.

"You? Yes. But Aku was the one who insisted I stay." Junior pointed out. "You might have some more intimate uses for me but I know Aku has no interest in jumping my bones (which, don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for) and would not invite me in just so another form of his could have some fun. So what's this about, Ikra?"

Ikra could tell by the look on his eyes that Junior was being very serious about this and was not going to let it drop. She had to give him credit, he was a lot more observant than most people would probably give him credit for. That's probably what made him a better bounty hunter than most of the ones she'd hired in the past.

"While my daughter can be a little…over-zealous when it comes to the things she cares about, that doesn't make her points any less valid." Ikra said as Junior downed and poured himself another glass. "You could have found some way to let us know that you were coming and I'm guessing you didn't even try looking for them." She eyed him carefully. "Are you here to check up on us, Junior?"

Junior took a moment before answering. "It's not that I don't trust you, and it's certainly not that I don't trust Chi. Not when it comes to this."

"And yet, here you are." She pointed out.

"I was honestly planning on leaving after I got paid." Junior said. "But…I admit when I saw that it was you who posted the Scotsman's bounty, I did see it as an excuse to stop by quickly and just make sure that everything is alright with you all."

"And by that you mean check to see if Kare's been giving me any trouble lately." Ikra said, seeing through Junior's walk around the question, the tone in her voice making it clear to the Reaper that he could not B.S. her.

"Has he?" Junior asked, not bothering to hide it anymore.

Ikra sighed. "Junior, Kare and I have been friend since long before you came around."

"And you think that makes you safe from him?"

"No. It means that he knows what I'm capable of." Ikra stated strongly. "Kare might be just behind your mother on the totem pole of rulers but even he thinks twice before messing with me. His realm gains too much by being allies with mine and, more importantly, he doesn't have the raw power necessary to go up against me. At least not enough to have anything salvageable left for him to call his empire should he manage to win. Isn't that the entire reason you came to me for help after your deal with him?"

"It's part." Junior stated. "The main reason was because Chi was the first person Mimi thought of."

"Fair enough." Ikra conceded on that point. "…Junior, is something going on? The last time you visited us it had been years since your previous visit. You don't like to risk coming by so often. Did something happen?" She looked around the room for a minute before getting in closer to him. "Did you break your word to HIM?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"No." Junior said very strongly. "Even I wasn't a Reaper there's no way I'd go back on this deal. It's one of the few genuinely good things I've done in my life and I just want to make sure that HIM isn't going to mess it up just because he can."

"Well, you shouldn't have to worry about that. He knows I've got my eye on him and vice versa. Besides, he's as bound to his deals as you are. He'll keep his word so long as you keep yours."

"Kind in mind that as a devil that is the bare minimum he'll do and he'll exploit every loophole within the deal that he can find." Junior pointed out.

"True, but clearly if the deal is broken you'd rather it be by Kare's backstabbing than you failing in your end of the bargain. You think Kare can be bad, just wait until what Chi would do to you if she lost Mimi. Especially now of all times."

"Trust me, I'm well aware of what your daughter's wrath feels like." Junior said.

"Oh, right. The Chainsaw Incident. Hard to forget that one."

"I don't want to talk about it." Junior said as he downed another glass of sake.

"I think she still keeps it on the side of her bed." Ikra murmured.

"I _really_ don't want to talk about it." Junior repeated. Ikra giggled a bit and held out the sake bottle for him, pouring him another glassful, of which he instantly shot back before sticking his cup back out for another refill.

"What do you see in that guy anyway?" Junior asked once she finished pouring, the main bottle now nearly empty.

"What do I see in the man who toppled an entire generation of superheroes using only a few well-placed lies and handshakes?" Ikra asked rhetorically. "The man whose twisted nature can make even I, the Shogun of Sorrows, take a step back in shock and revulsion? Even before our respective empires emerged and along with them our respective enemies, Kare was a well-known bastard in the Underworld. The devil who'd seduced thousands of souls into willing and unwilling damnation alike. What queen wouldn't want such a creature at her call and command and the power just his name would bring to their empire. Even your mother could agree with me on that, being his ex-queen and all."

"Hm… That's fair, I suppose." Junior pondered as he stared into his reflection in the sake cup.

"…Plus he's got a great ass." Ikra added on.

"That I'll take your word on." Junior commented.

Ikra looked at the Reaper with a playful smile. "Why, now, Junior, you wouldn't happen to be the one getting jealous now would you?"

"Well, that maybe could have been the case, if it wasn't for the fact that I know you and HIM are bros and have made it a point not to screw with each other, be it literally or physically." Junior pointed out. "As bros you help each other out and that's not a card he's willing to give up. …Or at least, he and Aku are bros, but I don't know if you…I don't know. Sorry. You've explained this to me before and I still can't wrap my head around it."

"What's there to…? Oh…right. Sorry. I forget Nergalings aren't that kind of shapeshifter." Ikra said. "They get so fixated on figure and forms but they can't actually become what they imitate. Still, that always gave me something to make fun of Nergal with during our poker night three thousand years ago with Shazam and Hades. He hated the fact that his powers were never as good as mine, which of course made it more delightful for me."

"So you're not a man or woman unless you choose to be. Is that right? You're only attracted to me and Kare when you're like this?" Junior asked, gesturing to all of her.

"Pretty much. And get all the attractions that come with it. Hell, I've got other forms for gay men, gay women, bisexual men, bisexual women, and everything in between."

"You might have to show me that fourth one sometime."

"Oh, I wouldn't count on it, Junior. Penelope prefers her partners a bit meat on them than you. She prefers the beef and cheese cakes if you what I mean." Ikra told him with a smile.

"To each their own." Junior said understandingly. He then thought about it for a minute. "Does that attraction thing apply to all the forms you take? Like if you transform into a lamp do you feel like getting it on with another lamp?"

"Nightstands, actually." Ikra responded simply as she took a sip from her cup.

"Huh. That makes a weird bit of sense, actually."

As Junior poured himself another cup, Ikra continued. "Aku doesn't have a gender, thus why he is my main and the closest thing I have to a "true" form. Much easier to be a cruel and ruthless tyrant when you don't run the risk of falling for one of your subjects and leaving yourself vulnerable because of how you feel about them. The only reason Ikra has become a mainstay is because it makes it easier for me to relate to Chi and let her have a positive female influence in her life."

Junior nodded a bit in understanding, but then a thought occurred to him. "Wait…why would that matter? If Chi's the same kind of demon that you are she should be a gender neutral being too, right? So why would it matter if she has a mother or father figure?"

Ikra didn't seem to hear his question at first and when it finally did register she suddenly went stiff in surprise.

"Ikra?" Junior asked, feeling concerned.

"What? Oh, no, It's nothing." She said a bit more quickly than normal. "It's just...nobody has ever really asked me that question before, that's all." Junior couldn't help but notice that she seemed a bit nervous, like his question had suddenly put her on edge. "Well…you see…what happened…what happened was…Oh! Chi met Mimi at such a young age, you see. She unknowingly imitated her a bit, just to get a better understanding of her. So she ended up spending a lot of time in a female form. And once that form started to develop a crush on Mimi, Chi just never wanted to be anything else. That's all."

Ikra smiled kindly at him but Junior could tell it seemed kind of forced, causing him to doubt that what she said was the truth. She was hiding something. And had this been any other person, Junior would have demanded to know what it was. But this was Ikra/Aku and though she would insist otherwise, he owed her and Chi quite a bit. As long as her secret didn't jeopardize his deal with HIM (and he knew Chi would never allow that her mother to do any such thing) he would not question her about it. At least not yet.

As Ikra racked her brain as hard as she could, trying to think of some way to change the subject without rousing the Reaper's suspicions, Junior provided one for her.

"You know…" He said slowly. "I actually have turned into a nightstand before."

"Really?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah. I was after this bounty and knew he was going to be hiding out in this cheap motel at some point. So I found the room he usually stays in, twisted myself up into a nightstand, and waited until he got there."

Seeing where he was going with this, Ikra smiled slyly and said "And when you were in the motel…did you have a lamp on top of you?"

Junior turned to her. "I know I'd like to." He smiled.

"I'll see what I can do." She smiled back as she moved to position herself over him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

* * *

"Shit!" Daniela again swore as another of her energy bubbles faded away in her hands. "Why isn't this working?"

The ghost teen's palms lit up with green power as she tried it again, the ecto-energy flowing out with careful control until it created a sparking ball between her hands. This was a technique the teachers her mother had brought over from the Ghost Zone had taught her and her brother when they'd first started learning how to control their powers. It was a relatively simply technique. Simply pool their energy into a ball and contain and sustain it for as long as they could. It was meant to teach control as well as build them up to heavier blasts without straining themselves as much.

When they were first taught this technique it was clear early on that she was far superior with her powers than Manny was. It was only after one or two attempts of trial and error that Daniela was able to create and contain her energy ball perfectly. Manny, on the other hand, went for several weeks without success, with every ball he made violently exploding just seconds after he created it, unable to contain the energies he pumped into it. And this difference between them continued on for years after, as whenever Manny would attempt it again he'd follow the same cycle of failing, getting mad about it, and then declaring he didn't need to learn the lesson anyway, as his raw power was all he'd ever need. Why bother learning to control his energy when he could just let it out in one solid burst and finish an enemy off in one move?

To be honest, with how much her twin struggled with such a simple task while it was so easy for her always brought a bit of a smug smile to Daniela's face.

That smugness had begun to fade away in these past few years.

"No." She said to herself as she felt the ball start to wobble. "No. No, no, no." She sweat as she determinately filled the ball with more energy and for a moment it seemed to stabilize. But another moment later and she started to feel it shrink again between her hands until the ball finally dissipated in a puff of green smoke.

"Damnit!" She swore angrily as she smacked her fist against the waters of the spring in her rage.

Her control over her abilities was still perfect, as it always had been. There was no way to improve upon them any further. But her own strength…her own raw power…it was almost pitiful. Every ball she made she could only sustain for about a minute at a time before she simply ran out of energy and the ball would just fade away because it had nothing to keep sustaining it. And be it in this simple exercise or on the actual battlefield, it was very clear that she did not have the raw strength needed for any sort of prolonged combat.

Daniela had realized this failing of her almost a year ago and vowed to correct this flaw.

In that time she'd made no significant progress.

In her frustration and anger Daniela curled up into herself, arms wrapped around her legs as they curled up against her chest, almost biting her bottom lip in an attempt to calm herself down.

She wasn't even sure why she'd started doing the stupid exercise. Ok, that was a lie, she knew exactly why. It was because she didn't know what else to do with herself in this place, other than maybe think more about the bizarreness of her situation.

Here she was, sitting buck-ass naked in a small pool of hot water, underneath an open red sky, deep in the heart of what on another other day be enemy territory. True, there was no open hostility between Aku City and the Domain of Death, but her mother had always made it clear that the moment any of the other realms left themselves even slightly vulnerable, she'd take them down without hesitation, and she had no doubt that they would do the same to her if ever given the chance. Honestly it had been just seconds after sitting down in the soothing waters that Daniela realized she'd never felt more uncomfortable in her life than she did right now at this very moment.

" _Why are we even still here?"_ Daniela thought to herself with some irritation as she sat defensively curled up in the water. True, her brother had been helping her by showing her around and explaining how the real Underworld worked, not just how her books and teachers would describe it as, but they'd also come out here in search of information on who broke into their mother's vault, of which so far they'd found nothing. True, that part was Daniela's own personal quest but she imagined Junior had to be worried somewhat about it too. Though if he was he certainly wasn't showing it, as they hadn't even made the attempt so far to see what people knew. The closest they'd come was the bar and well…that was cut understandably short.

Daniela sank into the pool a bit further, the water now up to her nose, as she skulked and continued waiting for her brother to come and tell her they could leave. It wasn't a very pleasant sit, though. Strange as it may sound she could almost swear the water had dropped a few degrees in temperature.

After another few minutes Daniela finally got tired of waiting and got up out of the water. In the corner of the room there was a small cart of towels, put there by the servants Daniela had to guess in case their master or his daughter ever just felt like going for a random dip. She quickly dried herself off with one of them before redressing. She pondered for a minute about whether or not to just leave the Scotsman's rune sword behind, as everyone seemed to have forgotten about the weapon after they turned him over to Aku, but eventually decided she'd best keep it with her, given that Junior might still want it if Aku wasn't going to take it. Throwing the sword in its holster back over her shoulder, Daniela couldn't help but smile a little at the idea of how she and Junior must look side-by-side while holding their respective and impressively sized weapons (and how jealous it'd make Manny if he ever saw her with the blade).

Leaving the steam filled spring behind her Daniela walked over to the next room before pausing before the door, suddenly remembering and blushing a bit as she remembered what Junior had said before about why they were in different baths. She knocked on the wooden frame of the sliding door. "Brother?" She called to the inside. No answer. Daniela knocked again. "Junior?" Still no answer. After waiting almost a full minute Daniela finally decided to cautiously open the door, peering in as she did so in case she…saw…anything that would make her need to close the door in a hurry. However, her fear was not realized, as when she looked inside there was nobody there. The hot spring was empty.

"Brother?" Daniela asked in confusion, poking her head all the way into the room to look around. She could see Dragonslayer propped up against the wall next to the cart of towels and his jacket hanging from the sword's handle, but otherwise she saw no sign that he was anywhere in here. _"Where did he go?"_ The ghost girl thought to herself with some concern.

She took another minute to look around the room with her eyes, pausing only when she noticed what appeared to be furniture underneath the waters of the spring. Why it was there completely befuddled her. At first she thought maybe there'd been a struggle, like Junior had been attacked, but she had not heard any significant noise earlier that would suggest that, nor would that explain the furniture in the pool, as her own spring had no such things within them and she doubted this one would either.

Not knowing what else to do, Daniela chose to simply slide the door closed and go off and search for him.

The moment the door shut Junior's head lifted out of the water.

"Did you hear something?" He asked.

The green arm of Ikra then came up from below, grabbing him forcefully by the back of the head and dragging him back down to her.

* * *

"Hello? Brother?" Daniela called out, her voice echoing throughout the tall structure as she entered the main palace. To a bit of her amazement and disappointment, not only did no one answer back but no guards had been keeping watch on the front doors of the building either to tell her to leave. She supposed Aku was more concerned with people breaching the wall of his compound than anyone actually making it as far as his actual home.

Carefully, Daniela ventured further inwards. The pressure of her footsteps brought just the slightest of squeaks to be heard from the smooth hard wood floors. Again Daniela had to comment to herself that the lair of such a feared demon lord was not at all like she'd expected. Other than the complete overabundance of black and red that painted nearly every corner of the place, the palace had an otherwise very pleasant and serene feel to it, help along by the relative silence in the immediate household and the dim light cast by the many candles that stretched around the rooms.

Things seemed to be fine, though Daniela nearly gave a sudden scream when she then noticed to two giant white eyes that seemed to be watching her from above. It was only a moment later that Daniela was able to calm herself, realizing that the eyes simply belonged to portrait mounted on the wall in the very center of the main room.

The portrait was of Aku, standing nearly as tall as the room itself, with Chi at his side. Or to be more accurate, in his hand, as the demon's daughter, whom appeared to be about ten years old in the painting, was sitting comfortably in his open palm as he held her next to his face.

Convincing herself that the reason she'd gotten so freaked out by the portrait was because that's how it was meant to be (given that her mother had one very similar of herself back at the castle) Daniela shook herself out of it and moved in a bit closer. Below the massive portrait was a small knee-high table that had several framed pictures laid across it. Most of them were of Chi from roughly the same age as in the painting, with them either being of her singing at a concert or she and her father celebrating either a holiday or her birthday. But there was one very odd photo out of them all that was not of either one of them. It was of a woman in a white lab coat by the look of it, with long orange hair and large circular glasses. In her arms she was holding a very young looking girl in a white dress with long black hair and a pink bow.

Daniela paused for moment as soon as she saw the photo. At first she wasn't sure why, as she was certain she'd never seen the two before in her life and did not recognize them. But then the realized. _"Her eyes…"_ Daniela thought as she looked at the young girl's face. _"They look like…the ones from earlier."_

Daniela leaned in a little closer to the photo, trying to determine if she was just imagining the similarity, when suddenly…

"What do you think you're doing in here?"

Daniela jumped at the sudden and quickly turning around, finding Chi standing right behind her and scowling. Everything had been so quiet Daniela hadn't even realized she'd approached her.

"Well?" Chi said, tapping her foot against the floor.

It took Daniela moment to get her bearings after the woman startled her. While it was true Daniela was very much like her mother and did not appreciate anyone demanding anything of her, she knew she'd be acting exactly the same if she'd found someone in her own home who knew full well they were not supposed to be there.

"I'm…I'm sorry." Daniela quickly apologized. "I'm just looking for my brother. Junior. He was not in the hot springs when I looked."

Chi eyed her for a long minute, as if trying to determine if she was telling the truth. Thankfully it seemed that she did believe her, as she gave an annoyed but passive sigh.

"My father told me that he was going to keep an eye on him so that I needn't worry about." Chi explained. "Which means they might be at this for a while. Can't believe she honestly thinks that I don't know about them." She mumbled.

"Do you know where they are?" Daniela asked, not seeming to have heard that last bit.

Chi did not answer back right away, looking off a bit as she pondered for a moment. "You're Daniela, right?" She asked.

"You…you know me?" She said with some surprise, as she knew for certain that she had not given her name to the woman earlier.

"My father instructed Demongo to keep me informed on the who's who of the Underworld. He doesn't want me taking over his throne until I've at least gotten a good idea of who my potential enemies and allies are." Chi explained. "Not that I really see the point. Any alliances formed down here are just out of convenience."

"Otherwise, everyone else is an enemy." Daniela finished for her, causing Chi to give somewhat of an impressed and surprised. "My mother believes in very much the same thing and she made sure we did it." She explained.

"A wise woman." Chi commented. "No wonder no one likes her. Anyway, Daniela, since I'd really rather not bother my…father…and Junior right now, how about you come with me and you can collect the Scotsman's reward money. That way when they're done you both can leave sooner. That sound good to you?"

Daniela caught on that Chi was saying this more as an order than a request. That being said she really didn't mind, as she was as eager to leave this realm as Chi was to get them out.

"Yes." Daniela nodded. "I think that sounds perfect."

* * *

 **Meanwhile, outside the palace's front gate…**

One of the two red clad shadow guards that stood before the front gate nudged his partner with his elbow to get his attention. "Hey, Dave. Check it out."

The other guard looked over to where his partner was pointing and saw a single person approaching them, dress in a long white and grey robe and a straw hat atop his hand, covering him at just such an angle that they couldn't see the person's eyes.

"Is this guy for real?" Dave asked his friend with a slightly amused tone.

The stranger continued his approach until finally stopping right before the two guards.

"Hey, buddy, you lost or something?" The first guard asked. "Michael's birthday party was last week and we already had a stripper come over for that."

"I think this guy is a guy actually, Brad." The second guard said, trying to see past the shadows of the man's hat.

"Ok, three things…" Brad said in annoyance to his partner. "One, don't correct me in front of civilians. It demeans us in the eyes of the public and makes us look not as united. Two, clearly he's a guy, I was just making fun of what he's wearing. And three, the joke works either way because the stripper we hired was a guy too."

"What? Why?"

"Because Michael's gay, that's why. It's what he asked for."

"He's gay?! Since when?"

"Since always, man. Remember how friendly he and Chad were being a couple months back and how they can't even work together anymore? They had a bad break-up, man."

"That's why? I thought like they got into a fight over a girl or something."

"Nope. Michael was ready to take things to the next level and Chad thought they were moving too fast. They couldn't work it out and everything just fell apart. Shame too. A lot of us thought they were really good together."

"Damn. You think you know someone, rig-!"

It was a flash of silver and sound and the guards found themselves silenced, their heads separating from their bodies before they dissipated into black smoke, leaving behind only their red uniforms.

Up on top of the compound wall other one of the guards who was patrolling heard the commotion down below.

"What in the-!" He managed to get out as he turned and immediately found his chest impaled by the blade of a katana. Before he could even blink the stranger was suddenly before him. The man grabbed the hilt of his sword as he leapt above the guard's head and the blade cut through him with little resistance. The stranger landed gracefully on the other side of the wall while the body of the murdered guard fell behind him. The man slid his katana back into its black sheath and when the hilt finally clicked against the wood, the body of the guard burst into a cloud of black smoke as well.

The stranger then resumed his calm pace as he walked to the main palace.

* * *

"…Good lord." Daniela gasped.

"I know, right?" Chi smirked

Within the room that Chi had led her to was money. All the money.

Stacked nearly to the ceiling were bills, gold coins, and sparkling jewels, each in near perfect piles to prevent them from spilling into each other, though that barely helped in the tightly packed room.

Daniela actually had to take a breath before speaking, never seeing so much wealth in one place before. "How…how much of this is our reward?"

Chi waved her hand to gesture to the entire room.

"You're kidding."

"Do you even know what a googolplex is?" Chi asked, leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded. "It's not a unit of currency, it's literally a one followed by one hundred zeroes."

"…And you were offering this for just the Scotsman?!" Daniela exclaimed with great disbelief.

"No. My father offered the 1.9 googolplex for him. I never would have bothered." Chi stated. "He has this weird…thing…about humans. I mean…I can understand it when it comes to someone like your mother but people like the Scotsman…? I just don't get it. In fact, according to Demongo, all this money and more was being saved to be the reward for the bounty of some other human! It just never got collected because the guy apparently died a while ago in some unrelated battle."

Daniela wandered a bit around the piles, picking up one of the bill stacks and flipping through the wad, seeing each bill had a smiling version of Aku's face on it. "How am I supposed to get this all out with me?"

"Don't know, don't care. Just find a way." Chi said with little sympathy in her voice. "Hell, I'm not even sure how Junior carries all the reward money he gets from the bounties he brings in. Popular theory is that he just stores it in another dimension or that maybe he just eats it. Then again from I've heard the Scotsman is the biggest bounty he's brought in. He's never gone after any of the bigger prices like Dan Phantom or the child kidnapper from the papers so maybe his wallet isn't that badly stuffed."

Daniela's attention instantly latched onto the name. "You know of Dan Phantom?" She asked, having been wondering about the man since he flew away.

"Know him? The bastard blew up half of Main Street last year during the Akusgivings Day parade just because some hot dog vender pissed him off." Chi said with irritation at the memory. "My father chased him off but we're half tempted to add into the national bounty the rest of the Underworld has placed on him, given all the rumors we hear of him causing trouble near our borders. Why do you ask anyway? You a fangirl of his? You certainly have the right look to be one of his groupies."

"Certainly not." Daniela told her in a noticeably offended tone. "I'd never known about the man until today when my brother and I met him when we encountered the Scotsman." Daniela told her.

"Oh great, and what did they blow up this time?" Chi asked.

"Pardon?" Daniela asked.

"It happens every time those two meet." Chi explained. "Every time they come across each other they end up fighting and lord knows the devastation they cause. You ever hear of Bowser's armada?"

"Yes, of course." Daniela said. "My mother had been keeping an eye on the dragon's army for a while, as no one was sure if it was an invasion that was going to be directed at the Underworld or simply another of the mortal realms as he'd done so many times in the past, when suddenly just one day the entire army was just….no…"

"Yep." Chi nodded. "That was them. Mind you this is just rumor and hearsay but apparently Dan went to go pick a fight with Bowser at the same time Junior was going after the dragon's bounty. Bowser sent his army out to fight them and they killed them all, all while fighting each other too.

"That's…amazing." Daniela said. She thought back to the fight she'd witnessed between the two and the Scotsman. In that one simple fight she'd seen power and tactics beyond any she's seen before, but everything that happened was still something she could wrap her head around. The idea of her brother, and strangely enough this brute of a ghost that made Manny seem almost restrained, fighting against an entire army… She remembered how Dan had accused Junior of holding back and not getting as into the fight as he normally would be. And now she couldn't help but wonder if the ghost had also been holding back during that fight as well.

"Yeah, amazing." Chi said with a deadpanned tone. "So amazing that he ended up not being able to collect Bowser's bounty because he and Dan didn't leave behind enough of him to prove he'd actually killed him, thus meaning his own inability to control himself made that entire trip and all that destruction pointless."

"If the army was going to try and invade one of the Underworld realms, then it wasn't pointless. Junior still stopped him." Daniela pointed out.

"And if stopping him was all he cared about, that would mean something." Chi retorted.

Daniela looked at the woman with a glare, not appreciating the she was speaking about Junior. "Lady Chi, what is your problem with my brother?" She demanded to know. "He spoke to you with nothing but politeness earlier and has made it clear that he does not wish to keep intruding upon your home, and yet every word you speak seems designed to make your hatred for his very being all the clearer."

"I do not…!" She started to yell, much to Daniela's surprise, but then she soon calmed herself down. "…I do not…hate your brother." Chi said, sounding almost like a confession and one she very much did not enjoy giving. "In fact, I owe him more than I think I can ever repay. What he's done…even at my most selfish I don't think I could ever have asked anyone to do. I am indebted to your brother and am more grateful for him than you could ever know. But…that does not change the reality of the situation. Him being here puts my family at a great risk and he knows it. I don't doubt that he's here just because he's worried about us but the sooner he leaves the better."

"What…what did he do for you?" Daniela asked.

"He hasn't told you?" Chi asked, sounding like she was only half-surprised by this.

Daniela shook her head.

"…Then it is not my place to." Chi said. "If your brother hasn't told you yet, then I'm sure he has his reasons. Let's just say that it is because of him that my wife and I are able to be together without harm."

"I didn't know you had a wife." Daniela said.

Chi smiled. "Most people don't. I'm sure some people have their suspicions already but we're not planning on making that information public until my coronation."

"Coronation?!" Daniela accidentally blurted. "You…you're taking over for your father?"

"No, no, not yet." Chi said with a smile. "Not for another year or so at least. My father wants to make sure I'm ready first, that I'll be able to juggle my regular responsibilities along with the duties that come with being the Shoguness of Sorrows. Still…can't believe he actually wants to retire and hand everything over. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to it but why anyone would ever willingly give up so much power is beyond me."

Daniela's thoughts drifted to back home, trying to imagine her mother ever doing the same. "Perhaps he sees it as you being worthy enough to have his power." She said, though a bit quietly and not really directed at Chi. "That only the best are worthy of inheriting the legacy he's built...and that he won't settle for anything less."

"Yeah…maybe." Chi said, not seeming to notice the younger girl's chance in mood. "Well…anyway…I suppose I can tell a few of the servants to bag or box some of this up for you so it's easier to carry on your way out. It shouldn't be too hard to…to…" Chi's sentence then trailed off as she looked down the hallway in confusion.

"Lady Chi?" Daniela asked, failing to regain the woman's attention. Poking her head out of the room Daniela looked down the hall to where the older woman stared. And at its very end she saw a single man standing still, clad in a white robe and a straw hat. "Who is that?"

"I…I don't know…" Chi said slowly, as if the man did seem familiar to her.

The two watched the man from a distance in the long hallway, with the stranger not making any moves or motions towards them. He simply stood very still.

And then Chi saw the smallest twinkle of light, as the man's thumb slightly pushed up the hilt of his sword.

Her eyes went wide.

"DOWN!" She yelled, pushing Daniela back into the money room just a sliver of a second before the stranger was upon them, his sword slashing through the now empty small between the two women. And it was only a second more did Chi have to react further. From her arm she spawned forth a solid black blade, throwing it in front of herself to catch her attacker's next swing. The impact of the two metals rang out through the hallway.

"Lady Chi!" Daniela cried out as she watched the two swords continuously clash. She had no idea who this man was or why he had attacked them but she could not just stand by and do nothing. She ran up to behind the stranger, hoping to attack his back, but the stranger, while still striking Chi's blade with his own, give a strong kick behind him, striking Daniela square in the stomach. It was an impact that would have been strong enough to take her out of the fight were it not for one thing: Daniela had a lot of practice going intangible at a moment's notice. Thus the man's kick passed right through her and she grabbed him by the leg. This move had been unexpected and the assailant could not counter in time, giving Daniela the moment she needed to spin him around by his leg and toss him into the money room behind her.

As the stranger crashed into the large money stacks, Chi took advantage of the opportunity the ghost girl had given her, pushing the girl behind her as she inhaled deeply before unleashing a typhoon of flames from her mouth, engulfing the entire enclosed room with hot orange fire.

As the two watched the room burn, searching for any movement from within the flames to indicate that the attacker was still alive, Daniela turned to Chi. "I imagine my brother is not going to be happy that you just torched his entire reward."

Chi just gave a slight shrug in response. "He'll get over it. Besides, the gold and jewels should still be good. Just a little…fused together…after they all cool off."

Daniela raised an eyebrow at the woman's statement, honestly being unsure herself as to how her brother would take the news, when the two then heard a small but noticeable creak in the wood ceiling above them.

And then the stranger came crashing down through it, his robe looking slightly singed from a few embers but otherwise undamaged.

This time it was the two women whom had no time to react, as the stranger smashed the hilt of his sword against Daniela's nose before thrusting it forward, stabbing Chi across the side of her stomach. Green blood gushed from Daniela's nose while Chi simply let out a scream of pain.

* * *

"AHHH!" Ikra screamed as her head burst from the water.

"Ikra?" Junior asked with concern. "What's wrong?"

The woman didn't even acknowledge his presence, her frightened eyes gazing off into nothingness.

"No…" She said. "It can't be…"

"Ikra?"

Junior made a motion to try and shake her back to her senses but before he could even touch her Ikra's green body exploded into a long black shape, flying out over the open top of the hot spring as it rushed towards the palace.

"IKRA!" Junior called out after her.

* * *

Chi's hand pressed against her side. The wound had already healed up and yet she couldn't take her eyes away from where it had been. _"That actually hurt me…"_ Her shocked mind finally processed. She'd known pain before, be it the sharpness of another's teeth against her skin or even just pain from exhaustion. But this…this felt so much more real than anything she'd felt before. Like the strike of the blade had actually eaten away at some of her form.

She stood paralyzed, too lost in the suddenness of the moment to realize what was happening, as the stranger stood over her, his blade down pointed down towards her chest, ready to end her life.

But before he could bring his strike down, both ends of the hallway went black as two massive hands struck through the outside walls. The entire building then began to shake as the hands descended down through the hallway, the arms they were connected to absolutely decimating the walls and rooms it cut through, as they moved towards the group. The stranger leapt up through the hole he'd made in the ceiling as the two hands finally slammed together in the middle, enclosing on Chi and Daniela.

Quick as they could the hands pulled them out of the building. Removing on hand from them Aku allowed the two to rest in his other while he brought them closer to his face high above the ground.

"Father…" Chi said in a relieved gasp, still a bit shaken up. Though her relief did not last long, as her father did not look at her. His eyes were firmly locked onto the now open area of the palace that he'd just rescued the two from and they had an emotion running through them that Chi had never seen from her father before: fear.

" **It cannot be…"** Aku repeated in horror and disbelief.

Down in the open hallway the stranger again stood, looking out at the demon before him. Only he was not a stranger to the demon. Not in the least.

Standing before him not was the demon's greatest rival. His longest enemy. The one mortal man Aku ever considered a threat.

The man he thought long dead.

The samurai known as Jack.

 **Chapter End.**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Watch out! (I love that theme song)

Sorry about the massive delay on this chapter. I've just had other things in my life to do that would have been irresponsible to ignore (that and Pokemon (one of the regular games, not Go!)) and didn't have as much time as I normally would to write for this story. No promises on when the next chapter will be released but I am going to try and get a set release schedule or pattern going, as I do want to move this story forward and make it good. Regardless I thank everyone for their patience with me so far.

So, just to recap what happened in this chapter, Junior and Ikra had a thing a while back (yes, I am very aware of how weird it is) and were about to do it again, Daniela has some feelings of inadequacy, Chi doesn't like that Junior is there but does not hate him because she owes him for something he did involving a deal with HIM. Oh, Samurai Jack is now there. Weird, huh?

So, to address what I did, yes Junior and Ikra have slept with each other in the past, though it was just a one-time thing (until this chapter, of course). It should be noted that there is a distinction between Aku and Ikra and that they both are and are not the same person, that Aku is only attracted to Junior as Ikra and vice versa. Yeah, it's still kind of weird but I do like to think of Aku as being genderless unless he actually takes the form of a man or woman, thus the times he's transformed as such in the original show to fight or travel alongside Jack. At least that's my justification for it, as Junior is not gay or bi in this story.

And don't worry, I will, in a future chapter, address why Daniela isn't just putting together that the "Dan/Daniela" thing means that Dan Phantom is her father and it's not because she's being stupid, I assure you.

 **QTP:** How has Jack returned after all these years, even though Aku knows he fell in battle? Was Aku telling the truth about why Chi is female instead of being genderless like him? Why was Daniela thinking about herself and her mother when she told Chi why she thought Aku was okay with giving up his title and power to her? What was the deal Junior made with HIM that Aku and Chi keep taking about? And does anyone else feel just bad for Jeff after everything he went through with Billy in the original show?


	7. Back from the past

**Part 7: Back from the past**

 **Lord Razer:** He's been dead mostly. Probably not a great time for him, or at least not the first part of it. And yes, HIM is alive in this story and you're right that he didn't just give his daughter away (he traded her to Junior for a Wii! (kidding, though I should use that in an actually story sometime)).

 **DPSS:** I know, right?

1\. You have no idea how literally that statement is going to be applied.

2\. You're half right and not far off.

3\. Fair enough.

4\. Good guess and certainly something HIM would do, though I like to imagine his deals have more of an element of tragedy to them, where he leaves it more open for the person he made the deal with to screw everything up and know it was all their fault that things went bad.

5\. I guess, but I mean, come on, it's Jeff! He's just so…Jeff! How can you fear a guy like that? (except when he gets angry. He's actually very scary when he gets like that, if memory serves right)

 **nightmaster000:** Thank you for the compliment. I always get worried when I upload a chapter about how good it actually is, especially when it takes a while between uploads, as I used to upload chapters a lot more frequently.

I'm glad you caught the sword thing, as I don't know how many others have gotten that yet (though, to be far, I hadn't used it a lot in the last chapter), but yes, Jack's sudden reappearance is connected to the break-in at Mandy's vault and his sword is one of the few items that are still missing (so I guess in a way Junior and Daniela succeeded in trying to help, though through no intention of their own (hooray for dumb luck!)).

And on a last note, for now Manny and Daniela don't know or even have any clue that Dan is their real father, as Mandy and Grim never had any reason to tell them. In fact, Daniela is the only one of the two whom has met him so far and she had no idea who he was. That isn't to say that they aren't smart enough to realize that Grim isn't their birth father. In fact, they do have suspicions about another ghost who they think could be their father.

 **Emeraldalex123:** You know, I don't think I've ever really thought about a disabled Underworld being, power-wise I mean. A creature that is unable to do what just comes naturally to its species. I suppose Minnie kind of is in a way. Her father, Nergal Jr, seems to be a far superior shapeshifter than his father but Minnie, who in the comic is the same age as he appeared to be in the show, is nowhere near as powerful as he was at that age, despite being a gifted and very brilliant child. I'm guessing it's because she's only a quarter Nergal and her human biology can't be morphed as well as her Nergal parts can. I suppose I can seehow the same could happen to Chi and it is an interesting thing to think about. Usually with humans breeding with gods or demons you just think of the powers stacking but at some point some of the biology just can't agree with each other. I'll have to keep this all in mind.

And yeah, I don't know where the lamps and nightstands thing came from. I think I just thought it up one day and it just kind of stuck around in my head until I could finally use it somewhere. It still think it's weird that I did that but at least that's a less awkward thing for Daniela to walk in on Junior and Ikra doing.

As for Daniela's ecto-ball practice, it is partly due to self-esteem but the main problem is that she lacks the power and stamina to keep it going for that long. The technique is meant to teach control and power, kind of like the Rasengan in Naruto. Daniela has perfect control over her abilities but her raw physical power has basically remained the same since she was a kid, which is to say there is not that much and thus she doesn't have the power or stamina needed to keep the energy maintained for long periods of time. It just fades away once she isn't able to keep it going anymore. Manny has the opposite problem, where he has a lot of power but doesn't bother to control or maintain any of it. It's just that Daniela is more bothered by her problem than Manny is by his because she lives in a family of very powerful beings, her mother being right at the top in her mind and someone she could never hope to live up to.

 **AMTT94:** I do really like some of your guesses and theories. Don't worry, I will have Junior and Minnie's relationship expanded upon as the story gets further, as to me that is one of the most important relationships in Grim Tales.

 **TexasGunKing:** I see no shame in your eagerness as it is understandable why you'd want to know. I'm still working out the details as to how everyone's relationships with each other will progress throughout the story so there is that possibility but given that I'm trying to make this more of a story than a lemon, when the events get more hectic and Junior and Daniela get a lot more crap thrown at them (and they will), sex will not be an immediate priority for them. That being said I should definitely make a JuniorXDaniela lemon for the oneshot collection at some point, there was a suggestion I saw in jubebubee961's lemon collection made by nightmaster000 that might be kind of fun to do, as it does have many similarities to this story (mind you the suggestion was made before I made this story). If you have any suggestions for a Junior/Daniela lemon I'd be very happy to hear them.

 **desdelor97:** Thank you.

 **Guest:** And thank you too.

* * *

 **Chapter start:**

 **Years ago, at the fall of Megaville:**

 _With the slash of his sword, another lava creature fell. How many like it he had slain, Jack had lost count._

 _The samurai held the katana tightly with both hands, waiting to face his next opponent. Whether it'd be another single combatant or an entire legion that would be sent at him next, Jack had fought enough of both today to make them all blend together in his mind._

 _His shaking hands caused the blade to tremble, though it was not out of fear or excitement, just simple exhaustion. His legs felt almost nonexistent, like if he were to take a single step away from this spot he would collapse and be unable to stand again. The upper half of his white robe was completely torn away, revealing his bloody and scarred chest. Though he was a warrior greater than most, he was not perfect, as every bruise, cut, and gash across his body proved._

 _He'd been fighting for hours, this small lull in the battles being one of the very few opportunities he'd had to catch his breath, hard and heavy as it may be. Oddly enough, it was this lulls that the samurai seemed to hate the most, as the break in combat left him undistracted and his eyes couldn't help but gaze over the ruins of the city all around him. Everything he saw was simply rubble, the broken or burned bits of buildings and concrete, and the remains of fallen friend and foe alike._

 _The start of the fighting had been bad, he and the others being almost completely overwhelmed by the unholy forces that stormed the city. And slowly the fighting became worse, as while the enemy's forces thinned, so too did theirs._

 _Until he was the only one left standing in this section of the city._

 _Jack heard and felt the movement behind him, quickly turning towards it. Standing before him, so tall his frame nearly blotted out the sun as Jack stood in his shadow, was a monster. But not the monster who'd caused all this misery._

" _Aku!" Jack exclaimed with distain as he kept his sword firmly guarded against the mighty Shogun. "I should have known you had a hand in the horrors of this day."_

" _ **Temper your sword, samurai."**_ _Aku said, raising his hand to pause him._ _ **"Even I am not so morally atrocious to take credit for the work and manipulations of my dear friend. My presence in this battle is solely as an observer. An observer with questions."**_

 _Jack raised his eyebrow to Aku, not quite understanding what he meant. "What do you want, demon?" Jack said evenly, though still keeping his sword ready between them, as more than anyone else Jack knew what a deceiver Aku could be._

" _ **Why do you continue to fight, samurai?"**_ _Aku asked him._

" _What do you mean?" Jack replied._

"… _ **This world is not like the one we came from, samurai."**_ _Aku began after a moment._ _ **"The world that no longer exists, or, if it does, it is in a place we cannot reach. The world where I was king and you the one who sought to end my evil before it ever even began. The world where I committed hundreds of tragedies such as this during the time when you were still on your way to the future where I ruled. I remember slaughtering the same heroes as Kare has this day and laughing just as him. I remember the world we came from before you brought us here and the lifetimes we spent there are hard not to compare to this new world, is it not?"**_

 _Jack said nothing, wondering where he was going with this. He could not help but notice that Aku was not talking in his usual mocking tone. He was speaking very seriously and possibly even with a hint of sullenness, like he had been thinking about all this for a while now._

" _ **You found a way back and I chased after you, a last ditch effort to prevent you from undoing the future I had created. But to little success, relatively speaking. You destroyed my past self, unsticking me from time and putting me under the watch of Clockwork, whom has promised to wipe me from existence should I ever meddle with time again. You chased me back down into the Underworld and ensured that I would no longer be as active a threat to the mortal world again. And you, still the warrior stuck in a time not his own, made the most of it and went on to explore this new hopeful world and inspire this timeline's heroes to a future that was not like mine."**_

" _What is the point of this speech, Aku?" Jack asked._

 _Aku eyed Jack carefully._ _ **"With this world not like ours, why do you still fight for it?"**_ _He asked again._ _ **"Even at the darkest times and trials I put you though, there was always that hope that if I had not sent you into the future, you could have stopped me. That, had you been there, the evils I committed never would have occurred. But this time, in this world, there is no jumping back to undo the evils that have been caused this day. Everyone who cares about saving this city is already here, and has already fallen. Even those you've taught whom you believed would take us into a better future have either already realized the hopelessness of their situation or have met the same end as they would have in our world."**_

 _Aku gestured over the rubble and Jack didn't even have to look to know what it was Aku was referring to. The black haired woman clad in green garb who's death was caused in saving his own life during the battle. The student who gave her life for her master. Jack could even bring himself to look at what remained of her._

" _ **What more can be done that hasn't already been done?"**_ _Aku asked._ _ **"Why continue to fight when this world cannot be saved like ours could?"**_

 _For a long moment, Jack did not answer back._

* * *

 **Now:**

So caught up in his disbelief Aku nearly failed to react to the samurai's sudden leap at him from the broken open floors of the palace, his sword catching the light as it flew up towards him.

Moving at the last possible moment Aku's body shifted around the blade before it made contact, the samurai's attack hitting nothing but open sky. His dark form gliding along like a flying serpent, Aku dropped Chi and Daniela close to the ground before quickly going back to meet his enemy. **"Flee from this place, my child! Flee!"** He yelled to his daughter as she landed on her hands and knees. Daniela landed besides her, her ghostly form giving her a bit of a softer landing.

Despite her father's words Chi found she could not run, for before her was a sight very few had ever been fortunate and unfortunate to see. Her father morphed into a large black scorpion, nearly the size of a whale, as the samurai fell back down towards him from above. Aku's tail stuck at the airborne warrior but Jack blocked the beast's stinger with the edge of his sword. As Jack threw the stinger away from him with the force of his sword Aku's claws darted up at him. Jack only barely managed to avoid the first claw's snap by bouncing off the appendage the second his sandals touched it. He propelled himself into the second claw and bounced off that one as well, this time at an angle that flew him quickly to the ground. The moment he touched down onto the cobblestone he launched himself forward, swinging his sword before him to cut through all of the legs on the scorpion-Aku's left side. A yell of pain was heard throughout the compound but before Jack could get any further behind him Aku's tail bent over and wrapped itself around the samurai's leg before throwing him far forward into the compound wall.

It seemed to happen in almost the blink of an eye as Aku's form had shifted to that of a massive octopus, his eight long limbs reaching out to the palace and the walls around him as he stretched himself back like a slingshot. Launching his large center body forward Aku again transformed, this time into a ram. Using this new forms great speed along with the force gained by his previous maneuver, Aku slammed his horns into Jack. The samurai managed to prevent taking the full hit of the horns by blocking them with his katana but the impact was still great enough to send him nearly halfway through the wall, as evidenced by the large crater impression that they made into it.

As the two enemies pushed against each other the demon's eyes lit up, signaling he was about to blast the samurai. Reacting to this Jack spun himself around the demon, letting Aku slide from the blade's edge and smack him head into the wall, as he'd still been trying to keep the force on. With his opponent's back now exposed Jack slashed him right down the middle. The two halves of Aku flared up with pain but then stretched themselves out like a pair of giant hands reaching out for him. They slammed together and would have had Jack caught between them had he not leapt back in time.

The hands opened back up again, this time as a pair of large bat-like wings. Aku's body gained mass before he turned his head to face Jack again, this time in the form of a long-necked dragon. As one would expect, Aku's next move was the onslaught of fire that came spewing from his mouth. Jack leapt above to avoid it but Aku had been counting on him to do so, flapping his wings to create a sudden gust of wind that sent the samurai tumbling while still in the air, causing him to lose his sense of direction and control.

Snapping his jaws forward, Aku caught Jack and swallowed him.

Unfortunately, as he quickly realized, though his mouth had caught the samurai, none of his teeth had. Meaning he'd just swallowed him whole. Meaning…

The fabled katana's blade struck out through the center of the demon's stomach and Jack pushed his way out, freeing himself from the creature's belly.

Aku transformed to attack again, this time with the attack Jack blocked being from another sword. Aku had transformed into Ikra, striking at him with an irregularly shaped black sword.

"How?" She said through gritted teeth as her blade struggled against his. "How are you alive? I was there! I saw you! I saw you die!"

Jack said nothing in response, his eyes simply staring out at her from under the shadow of his hat.

While the two continued to fight Daniela slowly stood back up, her ghost powers now having fixed up her broken nose. As she did what she could to wipe the dried green blood away from her face, Daniela felt completely lost on what to do. Like Chi next to her Daniela could not take her eyes off the fight between the two old enemies. For a second she was almost tempted to say that they should join in but quickly declared that as foolhardy, for if one of the Big Five lords was having trouble against an opponent like this, what possible chance could she have?

"Lady Chi." Daniela said, gently pushing the older woman's shoulder to try and get her attention. "Lady Chi, we need to get out of here!"

It took a moment before even responded. "W-what?" She said, still a bit shaken up.

"We need to go." Daniela repeated.

Chi looked back and forth between the battle and the girl and her own urge to help her father became overwhelmed as her side burned with the memory of the blade's sting.

"Alright." Chi said, giving a nod to Daniela, deciding it'd be a better idea to get reinforcements to help them instead of just fighting the warrior on their own.

The two women turned to run towards the palace and Jack, his sword still beating against Ikra's, did not fail to notice, instantly becoming alerted that they were about to get away.

It was as if she just blinked and Jack was gone, Ikra's sword hitting nothing but air as it made another swipe at where he had been. Ikra's eyes shifted to behind her and saw the samurai running at the two girls, his sword held in both hands as his blade prepared to meet them.

"CHI!" Ikra cried out.

Chi's slows slowly gazed behind her and for a moment she could almost see her reflection in the blade as the samurai brought in down upon her.

But Daniela, acting at the last possible moment, threw herself between the two, her back facing the blade as she tried to push Chi out of the way. It was a blow that could have been fatal for the young girl, had it actually cut her. The reason it did not was because of something even Daniella had forgotten about: she was still carrying the Scotsman's sword on her back. When the katana's blade came at her, the rune sword took the hit for her, the impact of the two indestructible blades hitting each other causing enough force to push Daniela into Chi as she tried to push her away. The impact caused the large blade to be knocked off Daniela's back and away from her but that was not something she cared much about at the moment.

Reacting in a split-second, Daniela wrapped her arms around the older woman's torso as she turned them both intangible and flew straight up, putting some distance between them and the ground, and thus the warrior as well.

Chi looked with some shock as they made their way further upwards. "You…you just saved my life."

Daniela gave a small shrug. "Well…yeah. I mean, you did the same for me earlier."

Chi was almost tempted to give her a small smile but then looked behind the younger girl. "Watch out!" She yelled as the samurai leapt up at them, travelling several feet up in a single bound as he still attempted to catch the girls. Whether or not the magic sword would be able to harm their intangible forms, thankfully Chi and Daniela did not need to find out, as Aku's giant black fist caught the samurai in midair and slammed him into the ground below.

" **You dare try to harm my child?!"** Aku roared. **"You dare?!"** The samurai struggled to free himself as his sword stabbed through the demon's hand as it held him down, though in Aku's enraged state he hardly noticed the pain. The demon's eyes glowed bright white as he stared down at his enemy until finally the energy that built up behind them was unleashed. Lasers of unimaginable heat and force stuck the area where Aku held the samurai down, the sheer power of the lord's blast causing the entire palace the shake by its very foundation.

"Holy…" Daniela couldn't help must mutter as the onslaught ended. Where the samurai had been pinned was now nothing more than a smoking black crater, with the ground and compound wall behind it having been completely obliterated simply due to being so close to the blast's point of impact.

Aku held his arm back up to himself and regrew his hand, as it had been caught in his attack as well. He flexed his fingers to get the feeling back into them and couldn't help but notice how hard he was breathing.

" _ **That attack did not used to tire me out this much."**_ He commented to himself. _**"I've let myself become horribly out of shape during these past years."**_

After a moment of lamenting Aku turning to Chi and Daniela, glad to see them a bit shaken but still relatively uninjured.

The shadow then fell across Aku's face. A shadow that slowly began to get larger. Aku looked up and saw, to his horror, what cast it.

It was the samurai, falling down from the sky above, his sword catching the light as it descended downwards towards the demon's head.

" **No…!"**

"FATHER!" Chi screamed as the blade connected. The sword cut effortlessly through the top of the demon's head and was met by little resistance as he traveling down the ruler's black body, the sword tearing through him as he went.

Aku could not even scream, so blinding was the pain. His body was split into two halves and the blade's magic ate away at both halves where they'd been cut. In an effort to save himself Aku's two halves quickly morphed back into one and compacted their densities together in an effort to heal his wounds as quickly as possible. Aku fell to the ground, exhausted but alive. His form was the same as it'd been before but now was a height equal to that of his old enemy, too tired and injured to go any bigger.

Jack now stood over him, sword held tightly in his hand as looked down at the demon.

" **I always knew…even after you passed…that my end would still somehow come by your hand."** Aku panted. **"I accepted that fate a long time ago."**

Aku tensed himself, ready for what would come next. But Jack made no move to raise his sword at him again, much to Aku's confusion. He just continued to stared at him from under his hat.

" **What are you waiting for? Do it!"** Aku demanded.

Again, Jack said nothing, just continuing to stare down at the ruler. But finally he did make a move and it was to turn away from Aku and redirect his attention towards Daniela and Chi.

" **Wh-what? No! I am your enemy! Your battle is with me, not my daughter!"** Aku quickly yelled at the samurai when he realized what he was going to do. **"I am the one who destroyed your homeland! I am the one who stranded you in time! I am the one who has harmed you! She has nothing to do with this!"**

But Jack ignored his word, holding his sword up in both hands as he prepared for his attack.

" **Please!"**

Jack leapt forward at the girls.

" **NO! Leave her alone!"** Aku screamed as his arm stretched out after him. The samurai took notice of the arm coming after him and prepared his sword to cut it down.

But before the hand reached or he'd had a chance to cut it, a different black hand grabbed the warrior by the ankle. It happened so fast that both Jack and Aku were surprised by its sudden appearance. The hand belonged to a large hulking beast, nearly twice the size of Jack and three times as wide due to its sheer muscle mass. It took Aku a minute to realize that the creature was Chi, recognizing his long orange hair as it flowed down the creature's backside and its almost gear-like emerald green eyes.

Having pulled the samurai out of the air in mid-attack Chi crushed his ankle in her hand as she quickly smacked Jack against the ground, face-first. She then lifted him back up and did it again on her other side. And then again. And again. And again, tossing him back and forth in rapid succession, cracking the ground with every impact of the samurai's body. On the last toss she let him go and his broken body skipped like a stone across the courtyard lawn. Chi then quickly ran over to her father, morphing back into her normal form as she did so.

"Father, are you alright?" She asked worriedly as she helped him up. Aku could see it in her eyes how scared she was, though whether it was herself or him he could not say. "I've…I've never heard you beg before."

" **Chi…listen to me…"** Aku said as he tried to stand. **"You must flee now. You cannot beat the samurai on your own and he…he is not how he once was. Something has changed him. Made him far more of a dangerous opponent than he was when I fought him in my youth."**

"Father, I will not just leave you or our kingdom to the hands of…of…!" Chi trailed off and Aku could clearly see the reason why. Both looked over and saw the samurai get up from where Chi had left him. His back was turned to them as he bent over to pick up his hat, as it'd been knocked off when she'd been thrashing him around. And when he put the hat back on, it was at a 45-degree angle. His neck as broken and sharply bent to the side. The hand that'd placed the hat back on had at least three fingers bent upwards in ways they were not supposed to go. He was clearly supporting himself up on one leg as the other was just a twisted, mangled mess that hardly resembled a leg anymore, his other arm was bent completely backwards, and, though his robe's thickness made it hard for them to say for sure, they were fairly certain that the entire left half of his ribcage had collapsed inwards.

The fact that he could get up so calmly despite all these injuries was not what surprised the two. The fact that these injuries were starting to heal themselves was.

Even from where they were standing they could hear the sickening snaps of the samurai's bones knitting back together and realigning themselves. Once his arm had gotten back into place and his fingers snapped forward Jack placed both hands on the sides of his head and quickly snapped it back into place. He moved his neck slightly from side to side to get the cricks out before reaching down and picking up his sword.

"You never told me he could do that…" Chi said in wide-eyed horror.

" **No…that's a new one…"** Aku said, sharing her expression.

The samurai turned to face the two, now seeming completely uninjured save for his dirty scratched up robe, and Chi quickly moved to put herself in front of her father.

" **Chi! No!"** Aku protested again. **"You cannot win against this man!"**

Chi gave a small look back to her father but stayed her ground, pulling out a small golden pistol from within her robe and aiming it with one hand at the warrior. Jack did seem concerned about the weapon, holding his sword calmly with both hands as he stood, waiting for her to make the first move.

Chi's finger tightened slightly on the trigger but did not pull it. She kept her eyes locked on the samurai. With the speed she'd seen from him earlier she knew that even a single minute of losing track of him would be very costly for her. She had to wait for him to give her an opening.

After a solid minute of motionless silence Chi's arm began to tremble slightly, both in fear and anticipation of what she was waiting for. And it seemed Jack took notice of this, as he raised his sword slightly closer to himself, creating less openings in his form and getting into a better position to launch the first attack.

Chi's eye twitched for a second and Jack's sandal pressed into the ground, preparing to jump.

But suddenly Jack's face shot straight upwards in surprise and he quickly leapt back, getting out of the way just in time as the massive blade of Dragonslayer crashed down from above right where he'd been standing. The sudden attack took them all by surprise and in an instant later Junior appeared, grabbing the sword by its hilt and swinging it upwards from where it'd been embedded. Jack used his katana to block the Reaper's attack but the sheer weight of the blade sent him flying back as soon as it hit. It took a moment but Jack soon got his direction back, spinning himself while airborne before landing on his feet.

"Who the hell are you?" Junior asked Jack as he stood between the warrior and the rest of them. Jack gave no answer back. In his silence Junior looked over at the injured Aku and then at Daniela, whom still had some dry blood on her face. "You know what?" Junior said as he looked back at Jack. "I don't care."

In the blink of an eye Junior was already on Jack, bringing Dragonslayer down hard against the samurai. Jack's katana again blocked the blow, his hands blowing his blade sideways to catch the larger weapon. The impact of the heavier metal against the other instantly formed a crater around where the samurai stood.

As the two blades struggled against each other Jack's eyes widened slightly as Chi jumped up from behind Junior, her hand forming a large scorpion claw like that which her father had done previously, which she stretched out and used to strike at the samurai. Jack leapt out of the way in time but left Junior free to swing Dragonslayer at him again, this time striking Jack's katana in mid-air as he tried to block it and sending him flying back. Junior then grabbed Chi by the hand and threw her forward as her body stretched itself out, becoming long and thin as it transformed into a massive spiked ball and chain.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Chi yelled at Junior as she weaponized body smashed into the ground, just barely missing Jack but sending debris up from the ground where'd she'd struck to continuously pelt him.

"I thought you guys were inside and got lost." Junior stated with some irritation as he leapt forward to attack Jack, whom this time knew it was better to dodge the Reaper's swings than try to block them. "Seriously, it says something when I grew up in a castle and still think your palace is too big. I didn't even realize you were out here until your dad's eye thing shook the whole place."

"It's not like we invited you in!" Chi pointed out as the spikes for her ball form stretched out to become sharpened sword-like tentacles and attacked the samurai, his blade blocking and cutting off as many as he could.

"My point still stands." Junior retorted. "I counted at least three times I entered another dimension just by walking into a room. "One I can understand but there's only so many uses an alternate plane of reality can have before it just becomes excessive."

"Well, not everyone has access to scythe portals, Junior." Chi huffed as two of her tentacles wrapped around the Reaper. Junior let it happen and Chi threw his body forward like a dagger, Junior holding Dragonslayer straight above his head to guide his path. Jack leapt out of the way but the moment he did so Junior jabbed his sword into the ground, halting his flight. Holding tightly onto the hilt of his sword to hold himself up Junior kicked Jack hard in the back with both legs, a loud crack being heard as he did so and pushing the warrior towards Chi.

Chi's numerous tentacles took on a new form, as each end of the appendages transformed into the growling and thrashing heads of several large black hounds. The hounds snapped their teeth at the samurai as they tried to bite him. Jack blocked the first set of teeth with his sword but was unable to avoid the second as it bit down hard on one of his legs. The samurai gave no indication that he even registered any pain from the bite and simply stabbed his blade straight down through the hound's head, causing Chi to again wince and almost scream at the terrible burning caused by the sword, though she fought through it and did not let go.

Another hound head attacked and would have taken off Jack's own head had he not blocked it with his sword, the blade stuck between the teeth of the beast and keeping its jaws pried wide open. Though that did not save him completely, as from down the beast's throat Chi's arm popped out, holding her pistol. The barrel of the gun pressed right up against Jack's forehead and Chi pulled the trigger, shooting him point blank in the head.

The force knocked Jack's head back, though of course it did not kill him. Yanking his katana from the hound's mouth Jack slashed at the neck of the one holding his leg, decapitating it and freeing himself.

" _No blood."_ Junior commented to himself as he looked at the warrior's freed leg. The damage to the robe was certainly an indication that he'd been bitten but even from the hole in his hat where Chi's bullet had exited from, there was no blood of any kind or color dripping out or staining his clothes. _"What is this guy?"_

As Junior rushed forward to help Chi, whom Jack now seemed focused on as he did not move away from her, Daniela stayed over by Aku, knowing she was more than likely outclassed at the moment.

"They fight…surprisingly well together." Daniela commented as she held one of the demon's arms over her back to help him stay standing.

" **It's not that surprising."** Aku commented. **"They used to fight alongside each other quite often before they parted ways. Though funny enough they only ever met because Chi sought him out trying to kill him."**

"What?"

" **It was a misunderstanding."** Aku assured her, though he went quiet for a moment as he thought about it. **"Ehhh…sort of. Junior technically did what my daughter was angry with him for but it was not intentional on his part."**

Daniela gave a Aku a look but said nothing about it, as it was clear to her how worried he was for his daughter right not, given that his eyes followed her every move with fear and his fist stayed clenched as he cursed his current weakened state, a feeling she could most certainly sympathize with.

Daniela's own attention was brought back to the fight as Junior and Chi attacked Jack together and he dodged out of the way, causing Junior's sword and Chi's currently enlarged fist to strike the ground hard and kick up a good amount of dust and debris in every direction. This misstep was hardly enough to slow the two down and they were quick to go after Jack again, but out of the corner of Daniela's eye she noticed something.

It was such a small thing it's a wonder that she noticed it at all but as the dust the two warriors kicked up drifted out from the impact spot, off to the side, a few meters away from where the battle was occurring, some of the dust seemed to just part away on its own. It may not have even registered to the ghost girl that this had happened were it not for what happened next, for as the dust finally settled against the ground and the far walls of the compound, that one spot where the dust had parted seemed completely untouched, as if something was preventing the dust from falling there.

"What in the…Lord Aku, do you see that?" Daniela asked.

" **See what, child?"** Aku asked back, not even looking in the same direction as her. He let out some of the breath he'd been holding as he watched Jack swing his sword and Chi stretch her stomach out of the way.

Daniela squinted her eyes as tightly as she could. On the path of bare ground that the dust had left untouched, she could almost make out the faintest outline of some humanoid-like shape.

"I think there's someone there."

* * *

A group of no less than twenty members of the Aku Royal Guard stood crammed in the hallway as their leader knocked on the door to one of the palace's inner rooms. The door opened up and it was no surprise to any of them that it was Demongo who greeted them.

"It's about time someone showed up. What in the blazes is going on out there?" Demongo demanded.

"There's an intruder in the palace." Said the guard who knocked on the door. "Lord Aku and Lady Chi are outside dealing with him now."

"Shouldn't some of you be out there helping them?" Demongo asked.

"Lady Chi's direct orders." The guard explained. "In case of an emergency we're to report straight here to protect her wife."

"Of course she did." Demongo sighed. "And I suppose our lord would have no reason to rebuke that order if he's personally handling the situation. Well, come on in then."

Demongo moved out of the way so that the guards could enter, though it came as no surprise to him that some of them deliberately pushed past him to get into the room, as even in a crisis situation they could rarely resist the urge to push him around.

As the guards spread out to stand and protect key areas in the area, including the bedroom and bathroom, the head guard was about to the close the door when Jeff came quickly scuttering along. "Wait, wait!" He called, trying to prevent them from closing the door on him. The guard would have anyway but Demongo stopped him.

"Trust me, Chi would be even angrier if you didn't." He pointed out. _"Not to mention he's the only person in this place I can actually talk to."_

The guard gave a shrug and let the spider in. "Whoo…thanks guys." Jeff said after he managed to shove his large abdomen through the doorway and the guard closed in behind him. "I was in the kitchen when the rumbling started and got worried. I was running so fast I almost dropped these babies." He explained, pointing to the tray of about a dozen steaming muffins he held securely with four of his hands. "Want one? Chi always wants me to make extra just in case."

"Do they have chocolate?" The guard asked. "My doctor say I shouldn't be having chocolate anymore."

"Banana walnut and peanut butter." Jeff happily told him.

"Ooh!" The guard cheered as he picked one up off the platter. He was about to lower his mouth guard when suddenly a loud scream of terror echoed throughout the room, almost causing him to fumble the pastry in his hands and almost drop it. Seconds later one of the red clad guards came running out of the bedroom, the fear and panic on his face very clear.

"Michael! What in the Sam Hill are you screaming about, son?!" The leader yelled at him.

"M-m-m-m-m-m-m-…she-sh-sh-she…!" The guard stuttered heavily.

"Out with it, man!"

Michael pointed sharply into the bedroom, keeping his back completely turned to it. Demongo, Jeff, and the guards quickly ran inside and all went wide-eyed over what they found.

No one.

There was no one in the room.

And there should be.

The muffin slipped from the guard's hand and hit the floor. He didn't seem to notice.

"…Chi's gonna kill us." Demongo wept.

* * *

Junior and Chi stood, both panting heavily as they stared down their samurai opponent, whom even after all their attacks seemed not to have tired at all, as he still was able to stand calmly, his sword in hand as it pointed stilly at the two of them.

" _What is this guy?"_ Junior thought to himself. _"He seems human but…"_ Junior squinted a bit at the man, his eyes glowing a tad greener as he did so. _"There's something off about his soul. But I can't tell what it is."_

As Chi reloaded her pistol she shot a look over to Junior, being carefully to still keep her eyes on Jack. "I know probably better than anyone that you're stronger than this, Junior. You're already panting and you're barely using your powers. What gives?" She asked.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself, princess?" Junior deflected with a glare.

"This is an enemy even my father couldn't beat at the height of his powers and he holds one of the only weapons in the universe that can hurt us or even cause us real pain. It makes sense why I'm doing crap-all against him. What's your excuse?" She pointed out rudely.

Junior didn't say anything in response, simply giving her a sideways glance of irritation before gripping Dragonslayer's hilt with both hands as he stared down the samurai.

Chi's brow furrowed in anger as she looked at Junior before again focusing on Jack. "You need to leave, Junior." She said.

"I'm fine." He stated gruffly.

"If you need to hold back this much then you're not fine." Chi pointed out. "You're putting us all in danger."

"I'm fine." Junior repeated with a bit more anger.

"If you still can't control it even after all this time-!"

"I'M FINE!" Junior roared as he launched himself forward at Jack, his sword crashing down at the warrior's own. The Reaper gritted his teeth as he pulled his sword back up and swung it again, only for the samurai's blade to intercept it again. There was a clear difference between the advantages and disadvantages the two had against each other in this battle. Dragonslayer was a far heavier blade than the katana and it took all of the samurai's strength to block its attacks when he found himself unable to dodge. If even one of Junior's swings were to get through it would horribly mutilate his body, thus why Junior kept on the pressure with bow after bow of his sword. But that was where his advantages ended. Dragonslayer's weight and length meant it took longer to swing than a smaller sword and took a lot of strength to do so. Even Junior with his Demon Reaper powers could feel himself starting to get tired after using the sword so much, as it was intended to be a one-hit kill weapon. Most other swords would have shattered by now against Dragonslayer but Jack's katana was just as indestructible as the iron blade, if not more so, and its slimmer and lighter design allowed for Jack to be far faster and more fluid in his movements, having no trouble moving in time to block the Reaper's assaults.

It appeared to be a stalemate between the two as Junior continuously hammered against the samurai's blade but one wrong move from either of that could change that in an instant. And given how the battle had been going for them so far, Chi didn't like their chances.

" _I need to end this now."_ She stressed to herself as she put away her gun and sharpened her hands into points. _"Just hold out for a few more seconds, Junior."_

She bent down and jabbed her hands into the ground. Beneath the dirt and stone that made up the underside of the compound Chi's arms sprouted numerous appendages that spread out like the roots of a tree, traveling every which way underground with the majority of them traveling towards where Junior and Jack stood clashing their swords. As the metals impacted again Jack looked over and saw that Chi was kneeling now and leaving herself exposed. Seeing this as his opportunity Jack quickly moved off to the side of Junior's next attack and leapt over him. Tentacles shot out from Junior's back to try and grab him but Jack had already gained too much of a distance between them as he ran towards Chi, sword set to impale her.

A smile cracked across the woman's face. "Gotcha, bitch."

The ground beneath the samurai's feet began to glow brightly with white molten heat. Even with the warrior's incredible reaction time he just barely managed to leap back as a pillar of red fire erupted from below and reached skyward. Jack felt his sandal sink slightly into the ground where he'd landed and saw the spot glow brightly as well. He dodged sideways away from it just as another pillar of flames burst through. Where he went another burst upwards, just barely missing his face, though it did completely cut through the front part of his hat. Before he could even make the move to get away again another pillar came forth at his side, cutting off his path. At his other side another sprouted up. And then another appeared much closer to him. And then another, one after another, each popping up closer and boxing him in.

Chi let out a primal scream and the final bit of ground that laid directly beneath the warrior's feet lit up the brightest of all of them as she poured everything she had into this last attack. The blast that erupted from below melded together with the others that'd trapped him within, this pillar of flame encompassing them all with its size. All around the compound other pillars popped up at random, this one spot not being enough to act as a vent for all this power that pumped through it. The shadows of every person, tree, and rock that stood within the walls stretched out endlessly as the faced the torrent of white hot flames.

Like the demon lord who stood next to her Daniela had to shield her eyes as best she could from the blinding lights, but unlike him she made a great effort to look over to the spot where the dust had parted earlier. In that spot she still saw nothing, though that served to only confirm her suspicions, as the small bits of broken rock and earth that sat behind that spot did not cast a shadow. Something in front of them was blocking the light and preventing it from hitting them.

Daniela's hand glowed bright green as she shot a quick burst of ecto-energy at the spot. In midair above that point her blast connected with something unseen and a loud cry of pain was heard, with whatever it was having been taken completely off guard by the unexpected attack.

"I knew it!" Daniela exclaimed, her voice not being able to be heard by anyone other than Aku due to the furiosity of Chi's power, though his eyes were closed to protect them from being blinded and thus he could not see what she did. Green sparks began to fly from where Daniela had struck, almost seeming electrical in nature, and soon she began to see a sharper outline of whatever was there. It was still mostly see-through, but it was clear that whatever it was using to be invisible was starting to fail.

Knowing that its presence had been discovered, Daniela saw the unknown being turn and run for it.

"Hey! Come back here!" Daniela yelled as she flew off after it towards the hot springs.

Finally, Chi's attack came to an end and the torrents of fire faded away, leaving only the smallest bits of flame left on the plants and grass within the compound. The shogunness's entire body shook and trembled from exhaustion as it could barely support its own weight anymore. Her arms then began to turn into smoke before they finally faded away, causing her to finally collapse onto the ground, panting heavily. As almost a testament to have weakened she was Chi's eyebrows went out too.

" _ **You're not as far away from inheriting my throne as you think you are, Chi."**_ Aku commented internally as he proudly observed the many scorched holes his daughter had left around the area, as well as the large crater her main attack had created.

As Chi's breath started to come back to her she saw a pair of black shoe standing next to her head, which she recognized as Junior's.

"Come here. I got ya." He saw softly as he moved his arms to help her up.

Chi gave no voice of protest and allowed him to pick her up by her waist and get her back on her feet. "Thank you." She said in a sincere but very tired voice.

"Never seen you do that before." Junior complimented.

"It's new, and hopefully something I won't have to do again." She explained as she looked at her now limbless shoulders. "Going to be a bit before I can regrow my arms. Please tell me I got him."

"Part of him." Junior said as he pointed off to their side.

Chi looked over and saw the thankfully motionless body of the Jack laying on the ground a few feet away from the crater. His robe was consumed in flames and his entire right arm was gone, along with a good chunk out of his right foot and upper thigh.

"He jumped into one of the other fires before you hit him with the big one." Junior explained. "Guess he knew he couldn't get out of it without taking a hit so he went for one that wouldn't vaporize him. Though I guess he wasn't fast enough to avoid all of it."

"Not that seems to mean anything when it comes to this guy." Chi commented, not taking her eyes off the body. "Would you mind…?"

"With gusto." Junior said as he let go of Chi, making sure she was well enough to stand on her own before he moved on over to the samurai's body, Dragonslayer in hand. He too kept a careful eye on the fallen warrior, ready for if and when he'd get up again. Junior held his sword tensely in his hands, with each moment Jack did not get back up adding to his unease. He could have hung back and hit him with some long ranged attacks to be safe but if he had survived Chi's assault Junior highly doubted some bullets or scythe chains would finish the job. He needed to get close and make sure the warrior was properly taken apart.

As he moved closer Junior glanced over to see the samurai's katana lying next to his hand, through thankfully not in it, likely having dropped it after he landed. This gave Junior some comfort, as the sword was the man's only weapon and even if he did awaken Junior was sure he'd be able to move quick enough before Jack could pick it up.

Standing over the warrior's body, Junior held Dragonslayer up above his head, ready to cut the samurai's body straight down the middle.

Out of the corner of his eye he looked back over to where the katana was.

And discovered it was gone.

" _What?!"_

In a flash the samurai slashed upward with his remaining arm, the sacred blade of his sword cutting through the Reaper's left eye and then his wrist, causing him to dropped Dragonslayer behind him.

"JUNIOR!" Both Chi and Aku exclaimed as the Demon Reaper let out a howl of agony, both his good and stump hand darting over to cover his profusely bleeding eye.

With his opponent left wide open Jack slashed downwards at Junior, his sword striking between the Reaper's neck and shoulder.

Only, to his surprise, the blade only went in halfway before it wouldn't go down anymore. In fact, it became stuck in Junior's body.

As the samurai tugged to try and pull the blade out Junior finally moved his hands away from his eye, showing that it was now not only healed, but both eyes were completely red in color. Junior's teeth were gritted and sharpening themselves as the Reaper gave an almost animalistic growl at Jack.

Grabbing Jack by his burning robe with his remaining hand, Junior yanked the samurai forward while his stump hand smashed into his incoming face. The impact of the punch was so great it tore the upper half of the samurai's robe away from his body as he was sent flying away from Junior, his body skipping across the ground until he finally came to a stop.

The robe burned for a bit in Junior's hand before he tossed it to the side. His dismembered hand then crawled up his leg and chest before trailing down his arm and reattaching itself to him, his Nergal flesh spreading out and sealing up the wound.

His hand restored Junior yanked the katana out of his body, a bit of green blood spraying out as he did so but that sealed up quickly as well. Junior glared ahead with is burning red eyes as he snarled but quickly clamped them shut as he tried to calm himself down.

" _No…I am the one in control. I'm…I'm ok."_ He told himself as he reopened his eyes and they reverted back to the normal green coloring of his Nergalized form. He breathed, though it was a bit shaky as he did so. He looked over to Chi, hoping that she'd not seen what had almost just happened. And thankfully, she did not, though that was because her shocked eyes, along with her father's, were not on him.

"J-Junior…" Chi stuttered as she stared.

Junior looked over to the samurai and his eyes went wide as well, the shock being nearly enough to cause him to drop the katana.

The samurai stood up from where Junior had knocked him. The loss of his upper robe revealed a number of details the group had been unable to see earlier. On his back was some kind of mechanical device that covered the majority of his backside. None could see the full thing from where they were standing but from the look of it it was very advanced and deeply embedded into the warrior's body.

But even this strange, unknown device was not what had caused the group to pause in shock. They had not noticed it before due to his robe and the shadows under his now destroyed hat. Even his hands during his attacks had moved too fast for any of them to have taken note. With the exception of his right shoulder, which had been blackened by his arm being burning to cinder, the samurai's entire body was a light pinkish color, with the good majority of his body, including his chest, arm, and undersides of his eyes, looking like they'd been sown and stitched together.

Junior could barely speak. "He's…he's a ragdoll…!"

 **Chapter End**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Didn't see that coming, did you? Or maybe you did and just didn't want to say until you were sure, which is fair enough.

So…Jack's a ragdoll, and a fairly mute and hard to kill one at that. Though Chi's little Limit Break would have done the job had she landed a better hit. Though an attack that leaves you literally disarmed is certainly not something you want to spam, thus why the grenade punch has never really caught on. Sorry about how easy Aku went down and that Daniela didn't get to do that much during this chapter. With the actual comic saying that Aku has lost some of his zeal now that his rival is gone, I just thought I'd make some sense that Aku would let himself get a bit rusty over the years. He's still powerful, mind you, but his powers have grown a bit dull without an opponent to constantly test himself against. And as for Daniela, well, it's not like she won't have anything to do next chapter, given that I just made her run blindly after an enemy she knows nothing about. That should be fun. And don't worry, the other half of Jack and Aku's conversation in the flashback will be in the next chapter.

Who made Jack like this and why? Tune in next time on Grim Tales: Complex! And by that I mean read the next chapter which should hopefully come out faster than this one did, though like last time, I make no promises.

* * *

Also, I want to say something about one of the most recent pages of the actual Grim Tales comic "Breaking the tension" that's been bugging me and it's about all the comments on that page calling both Aku/Ikra and Mandy whores. Now, keep in mind that this these are just my own personal view on this and I can understand why some of you may feel differently, but these comments really piss me off.

So the thing that's set people off is Ikra hitting on Grim and basically outright stating that they'd had a past with each other that was more than likely just physical and sexual. And I don't get where people are getting this idea that this makes Aku/Ikra a whore. She's only expressed romantic/sexual interest in two characters so far: HIM, basically wondering why he's so focused on Mandy when he could have her as his queen or at least by his side, and now Grim, whom she seems to have had a past relationship with and is making these comments likely to mess with both him and Mandy (and possibly HIM but who knows). How does liking or at least being openly attracted to two characters make someone a whore? Especially when Aku only acts this way when he's Ikra. Otherwise he acts basically as he normally would, though a bit more mellow since Jack has died.

Second, I hate how there's this mentality that Mandy is a whore, though not to say that I can't understand why. Taking out the Christmas page where she seduced Santa (which I treat as just a one-off, non-canon gag page like the April Fools, Halloween, and other Christmas pages the Bleedman comics have, as they have no impact on the actual story and very well could have just been something fun Bleedman wanted to do) the only people that Mandy has been confirmed to have slept with are the fathers of her children (Junior's father, Nergal Jr, and Dan Phantom) and Grim on their honeymoon. She might have slept with HIM before but HIM dropped hints that Mandy used to be his queen, so it'd make sense that that'd happen.

So we have Aku/Ikra, whom is a single ruler who is attracted to HIM but is smart enough not to let him play her and had a past with Grim (likely a long time ago, given how they speak with each other), and we have Mandy, whom is basically female Zeus but with higher standards and an actual plan behind her way of doing things. I'm sorry but I think it's really unfair to be calling these two whores just because they either have a sex drive that goes beyond one person or uses sex as another tool for what she wants. Heck, Junior as I've written him in this story is closer to being a whore than either of them, given how much I've had him sleep around, and even then he only does that because he's got a lot of issues and is very lonely and has problems he'd rather not think about, not because he's a whore. And I really think it's unfair to label Mandy and Aku/Ikra as whores when what they're doing is both understandable and completely reasonable (well, for them I mean. They're still both evil rulers of the Underworld for a reason after all).

Now I'm not saying they're not being oversexualized, mind you, especially Mandy. Bleedman has a good art style but I've never liked Mandy's outfit in this story. I get the whole "empowered woman can dress however she likes" thing, but this isn't a woman dressing herself up in this outfit out of choice. This is a fictional character being drawn to wear this outfit, likely for the titillation of the male reader (and while I appreciate the thought, I both have and can write porn online should I ever want that titillation, so there's not much need to push it into the story). I get that in the original show Mandy was about ten (I think) that they never would have put her in an outfit like this at that age, but I just have a hard time seeing that character from that show growing up and deciding to wear this. But it's kind of a minor complaint for me, as it doesn't ruin the story for me. I guess I'd compare it to The Joker from The Batman animated TV show, where the look was kind of off but the personality was still spot-on and strong so I could look past the look.

Then again I suppose it says something about me that my favorite Mandy outfits in the comic are her assassin uniform and her mayor outfit (dressed to kill and dressed to pass bills!). I know neither of them would work as a queen's outfit and if you were to ask me how I think Mandy's outfit should look, I wouldn't be able to tell you. Like Harley Quinn's outfit in Suicide Squad (or the Arkham Games or really anything since the New 52), as I get it's hard to translate the jester costume to other mediums. I can't tell you what I should look like, just that it shouldn't look like that.

* * *

 **QTP:** Who brought Samurai Jack back as a ragdoll? If Jack is a ragdoll, how come he's so much more durable than Minnie's ragdoll form? Why did Chi want to kill Junior when they first met years ago? Who is the invisible being that Daniela chased after (I'll give you a hint, it is not a ghost, as Daniela's ghost sense would have gone off as it had earlier when Dan showed up)? What happened to Chi's wife? Why was Chi telling Junior he needed to leave the fight?


	8. What remains of the fallen

**Part 8: What remains of the fallen**

 **Lord Razer:** You pretty much nailed it with the Jack thing, though as for what happened between Junior and HIM, I'd say you're technically right. I say technically because devils like HIM do love their technicalities.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Well actually Jack does have certain "enhancements" that were made to him when he was transformed into a ragdoll. Not going to say specifically what those enhancements were but I will so they were made by people who know how to create a ragdoll and smart enough to know how to improve upon its design.

Also that pun was so bad it took me a while before I finally got it. In a strange way that actually made me love it more.

Also also, without giving too much away too early, that's not the reason why Chi wanted to kill Junior when they first met because in this story's timeline, Junior never housed Mimi and that's because HIM never sent Mimi to break into Mandy's vault. It's a bit confusing, I know, but basically everything up till the end of the Demon Reaper incident in the actual Grim Tales comic still happened as it did, but everything after that is when things become different. So Junior and Minnie still got home safely from Halloweentown and Mimi and Jeff still went on the run after betraying HIM. But everything after that…well…that's to be revealed later.

 **DPSS:** Good to know it was obvious because I tend to be very paranoid about my writing. And don't worry, that's not sarcasm. I do tend to generally worry about my writing a lot.

1\. That's a pretty good theory, though I think the Dexter from Grim Tales Afterbirth was Drax, a version of Dexter from the Powerpunk Girl's universe (at least according to his wiki), which is basically Earth-3 from DC comics. A universe where everything is the same except everyone's morality is reversed. All the good guys and bad and all the bad guys are good. But yeah, if you're talking about the real Dexter then I can certainly see how watching all your friends and loved ones die horribly would cause him to go off the deep end. Also would explain any fixation on Mimi, given that she both the daughter of the one he loved and the daughter of the one who destroyed Megaville.

2\. Fair point, though do remember that it was Dr. Finklestein who built Minnie's ragdoll body, not Junior, and that all Junior did was place Minnie's soul into it, under his father's guidance.

3\. Actually, he didn't, or at least Chi couldn't think that he did, because in this story's timeline Mimi never broke into Mandy's vault and got herself captured.

4\. That's a fair guess.

5\. Another fair guess.

6\. That certainly sounds like something Kare would do. Grant someone power that they cannot control and have them always at risk of bring harm to those they wished to save.

 **desdelor97:** Thank you. I really appreciate that.

 **nightmaster000:** Funny enough, even though I do have one of the games zombie Liu Kang appeared it ( Mortal Kombat Armageddon, I think it was), he was not the inspiration for Ragdoll Jack, though I do now see several way he could have been and how that would have influenced him. And yes, there is a soul inside the Ragdoll Jack's body. The idea is that Jack of all people probably wouldn't fight as well as he did if the essence of who he was is not there too. You could build a robot that could match Jack's fighting style perfectly and yet he would still emerge victorious.

 **Nikola the Einstein:** Yeah, that's the weird thing about some stories. Sometimes the protagonist is not always the hero of the story, they are simply the person you're following through the story. Think like Lex Luthor in some stories or Bardock in  Bardock the Father of Goku special.

 **AMTT94:** Good guesses all around. And don't worry, Junior's past will be revealed as the story progresses, as well as what happened with Chi and Mimi.

 **Guest:** Thank you.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

Daniela flew quickly after the unknown figure, easily keeping track of where the being was as the green sparks continued to fly off their body as they ran. They'd both just gotten past the hot springs and Daniela couldn't help but wonder where the being was running to.

" _The entrance is back the way we came. If he's trying to escape, then where is he running to?"_ Daniela asked herself as she continued the chase, starting to close in on the figure. _"Is he trying to escape or is he just-?"_

Just then, from the few bits of motion that the sparks made clear off the invisible man, Daniela could see the being came to a sudden stop and then turn to face her. A single wave of something later and a large vertical wave of purple energy came sailing out from where he was, cutting through the air like a blade as it made its way towards her.

Daniela stopped in a panic for just a moment, the sudden attack surprising her. Doubting her ability to tank such a hit, Daniela split herself in two at the moment just before the energy would have struck her, causing it to hit nothing but the empty space between the two Danielas.

Seeing her opportunity now that the man had stopped both Danielas unleashed a blast of ecto-energy at where he stood, seemingly hitting the unknown being dead-on.

Seemingly being the key word.

When the smoke for her attacks cleared Daniela could see the green sparks of the man as he still stood there, but now there was something new. A strange yellow tilted barrier of light that completely encircled the stranger. The barrier stretched straight upwards to the sky, cutting off at a bright circular top about parallel to the top of the palace.

The Danielas blasted at him again but like before it did nothing, the yellow barrier blocking the attacks. The main Daniela grimaced in irritation but tried to calm herself down by thinking this situation through. If this shield prevented her blasts from getting it, it was unlikely the man's own attacks could get out to strike her. And given that he ran all the way out here before using it and was standing completely still, she could only assume that this shield wasn't a portable thing.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as much of a stalemate as the ghost girl had hoped, for as cued by the motion of the sparks, the man was starting to rise up within the circular barrier and head towards the top, causing Daniela to realize it was not just a shied but some sort of tractor beam!

The two Danielas morphed back into one and she fired upon the stranger again, hoping that having all of her power focused on one point instead of two might help her.

But alas, it did not, for even as she fired again and again with all her might, none of her blasts could penetrate the barrier and the man continued to rise further up towards his escape.

"DAMMIT!" Daniela swore as she continued to desperately break through. _"If Junior were here…or Chi…or even Manny…they could break through this thing no problem. So why can't I?! Why am I so…so…?!"_ Daniela yelled as she gave one final push to her power, hitting the barrier with an even bigger blast than before in her frustration. But when the smoke cleared again, still not a scratch on it.

Daniela collapsed to her knees, panting from her struggle. "I'm not strong enough…I just…I can't…" Her eyes almost started to well-up with tears from her failure but then a thought suddenly struck her. "…Wait…" She said. _"Clearly he's not creating the barrier himself. It's being created by whatever he's heading towards. Which would mean the source of the barrier…"_ She looked straight up towards the top of the barrier where the sparking man was quickly closing in on. _"…Is right there!"_

Daniela shot straight up like a bullet, quickly moving to reach the top before the enemy did. As she flew Daniela started to duplicate to form several more of herself that all flew alongside her.

" _I only get one shot at this…"_ Daniela thought as she reached the top, noting how close the sparking man was getting. She and the other Danielas spread out to encircle the barrier on all sides. _"…Which means I've got to hit it everywhere at once!"_

Daniela's palms glowed brightly and she unleashed her power, the other copies following suit, all of them aiming just above where the top of the barrier ended. The numerous blasts stuck something but the barrier still stood, the source not being damaged enough to shut it down. So the Danielas poured on the juice, hitting their respective areas with everything they had. The points of impact glowed bright green from the assault and some of the Danielas even started to vanish, using up all the power they'd had. The strain that the prolonged blasts were putting on her started to hurt considerably but Daniela could not give up. Not when she was so close.

Finally, just as the last spare copy of herself faded away, Daniela heard the sound small explosion come where she'd been blasting.

Followed by a much louder and more visible explosion, as flames and smoke erupted from the barrier's source with a deafening boom. The explosion seemed to have shorted out a few things, as the cloak over the barrier's source started to flicker on and off, revealing what appeared to a large flying saucer. Its appearance lasted for only a few seconds before it became completely cloaked again.

Sudden image of the ship was a bit off-putting to the girl but even with that she was more focused on the barrier, and to her relief, her efforts had succeeded. With its projector destroyed the barrier could no longer be maintained. The shield fell and with it so too did the tractor beam, as evidenced by the green sparks, as their invisible point of origin fell quickly to the ground with a panicked scream.

Daniela heard the body hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

"I…I did it…" The girl huffed in amazement, almost as if she couldn't believe it herself. Daniela gently floated back down to the ground, carefully not to exert her tired body too much more and she landed next to where the body had fallen.

It appeared that the fall (and possibly the explosion) had damaged the being's cloaking device even further, as the man's image started to flash in and out of visibility. Though unlike with the ship, it was too damaged to go back and finally the man's form became fully visible. And Daniela almost had to take a step back in shock over what she saw.

"F-father?!" She exclaimed as she watched the black robed skeleton slowly stand back up from where he'd fallen. "No…wait…you're not…"

Though this man was indeed almost a mirror image of the Grim Reaper, upon closer inspection Daniela immediately started to notice the differences. Though his face was indeed that of a skull it had an almost sickly green hue to it and appeared to actually have lips of a slightly darker green. Stranger than that was the long (not large) brain that stuck out from the top of this being skull, hidden only partially by his hood.

"What…what are you?" Daniela stared.

The skeleton did not answer back, his empty eye sockets glaring at her with incredible rage. He was gripping the staff of his scythe tightly with both hands, which Daniela couldn't help but notice that, unlike Grim's curved blade, the blade of this scythe was heavily serrated on both sides.

"You…little…brat!" The Reaper yelled as he slashed his scythe at her.

* * *

"Please let go of my head." The red clad guard sobbed.

"No, I might still need yah as a meat shield." The Scottsman replied simply as he kept the crying guard trapped in a headlock as they walked. "Besides, doesn't Aku jus grow you lot by the dozen from his fingers er somethin'? What are you afraid of?"

"We're still separate beings with our own thoughts and feelings! Just because Aku can easily replace us doesn't mean he can easily replace us! There's only been, like, five other Chads before me and I guarantee none of them have loved as I have! Or as much as I will when I get out of this! I'm going to go to Michael and tell him I'm sorry for how foolish I was! I see now why he wanted to rush things! In this uncertain and tragically short world of ours, when you find something that truly makes you happy, you need to hold onto it for as long as you can, because you never know when they might be taken away! Yes, Michael! Yes! A thousand times y-!"

The Scotsman then gave the guard a quick punch to the face with his free arm. "Look, I'm happy fer ya an I wish you both all the best, but fer right now, shut yer trap and help me find mah sword." He said as he kept his eyes on the blinking tracking device in his hand. "I inserted a chip inta the hilt. Too many damn lily-livered diamond-eyed thieves out there wit an eye fer quality but no skill to use wit it. Ain't letten' some punk hide my sword somewhere jus so they can make a buck."

"Where were you even hiding that thing anyway?" The guard asked, rubbing his nose where he'd been hit as he looked at the device in the warrior's hand. "You were strip searched when Aku put you down in the dungeons. You didn't even have your gun leg on you." He said, looking down at the Scotsman's left leg which was now a wooden pole he seemed to have just jabbed into his stump. Oddly enough the warrior didn't seem to be feeling any pain from it.

"You don't wanna know."

The guard stared at the device. "…Can you please not hold it so close to my face?"

"I told ya you didn't want to know." The Scotsman repeated. "Hmm…I'd think yer boss would be keepin' mah sword in a vault 'er somethin' but the signal is leading me outside. You got some kinda armory out there?"

"I don't frigging know! I was made to just stand guard outside the jail cells! I don't know what goes on in the rest of this place." The guard angrily stated.

The Scotsman finally made it out of the maze of hallways and stairs and reached the topside of the compound. After his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the outside after being underground in the dark he immediately took notice of the many holes and debris that was scattered all around the place.

"What in the blazes happened here?" He said as he gaped in confusion at all the damage to the area.

"Well we did hear all that rumbling earlier. Perhaps Lady Chi reverted back to one of her old tantrums again. Most of us are surprised it hasn't happened sooner." The guard commented.

"You people don't tend to like yer bosses much, do ya?" The Scotsman asked.

"Oh, no, yeah, what's not to love about being an expendable henchman for an all-powerful and evil lord of the Underworld and his spoiled daughter?" The guard said sarcastically as the Scotsman continued to follow the signal. "Swear to Hades, I can't wait until the union expands to include magically created minions."

"Hm." The Scotsman nodded his head in indifference. They made their way through the compound as they closed in on the signal. The guard could only assume it was the warrior's confidence in his own skill that he wasn't afraid of being spotted out in the open (that or the fact that he was there to act as the Scotsman's bullet shield).

"Okay, accordin' tah dis thing, mah sword should be somewhere jus around he-!" The Scotsman interrupted himself as he heard the sound of wood knocking against metal as his makeshift peg leg kicked into the Rune Sword. "…here." He murmured in both surprise and confusion. He picked up his sword with one hand, making sure to keep his other arm firmly locked around the guard's head as he did so. He held the sword up to admire its shine. "Ahh. Good ta see you again, ya old beauty. Now where's the eejit who was stupid enough ta leave you jus lyin' around?"

The Scotsman did not have to turn his head far. Just a bit to the left and a few meters away could see the source of all the commotion. The many craters that'd broken through the ground just minutes ago. Chi and, to his surprise, Aku standing tentatively off to the side as they stared over at Grim Jr, the one who'd brought him to this place. The only reason none of them saw him was because they all had their backs turned to him with their attention focused elsewhere. In fact, the only one who was facing him was…

"Laddie?" The Scotsman gasped upon seeing the samurai.

* * *

Jack's remaining hand clenched up into a fist as he positioned himself into a proper fighting stance.

"What are you doing?" Junior said, still trying to get over the shock of the sudden revelation. "It's over! I've got both your weapon and mine and I doubt you can regrow an arm as fast as you can fix your bones. Even if you can I'm sure I'm fast enough to take you down before that. Just stand down!"

Jack did not change his stance, his eyes moving only slightly as they looked for an opening. But not on Junior.

" _I can feel it."_ Junior noted to himself. _"He's looking right past me. Right at Chi."_ Junior didn't dare take his eyes away from his opponent but he didn't need to in order to know that the daughter of Aku was behind him. _"Me…and even Aku…we've been nothing more than obstacles in this fight. He's been after Chi this whole time, focusing entirely on her unless someone else gets in his way, like some kind of robot. Is that what he is? But I can feel that there's a soul in there. But…he can't be a ragdoll. The only ones who can do this to a person are other Reapers!"_

The crunch of Jack's sandal on the ground instantly put Junior on edge and drove him to action. He quickly yanked Dragonslayer up from the ground behind him with one hand while he held the katana in his other. Wielding both mighty weapons Junior charged at the samurai before this could go any further.

He was then blindsided by a large object out of nowhere that struck him hard and sent him tumbling. The moment Junior hit the ground he saw what it was that hit him; one of Aku's many red clad palace guards whom was now laying sideways across him.

"Uh…hi. Grim Jr." The guard said awkwardly. "Name's Chad. Big fan."

Junior stared dumbfounded at the guard before the following loud obnoxious voice brough him back to his senses.

"OY! WHAT IN THE BLAZES DID YA DO TA MAH FRIEND?!" The Scotsman bellowed as he stumped his way into the battlefield, violently pushing his way past Chi and Aku as he entered in from the direction he'd thrown the guard from.

"No. Not now, you idiot!" Junior yelled as he quickly scrambled to his feet, pushing the guard off of himself before diving back at Jack as fast as he could. But before he could cut the warrior down, the Scotsman interfered again, his rune sword catching the swings of Junior's blades. With impressive strength even for a man of his build, the Scotsman held his sword in one hand to hold off Junior's attacks, while the other hand curled up into a fist and struck the Reaper dead-center in the face, sending Junior flying back.

He skipped across the ground for a bit before he jabbed both swords into the ground to stop his momentum. His reopened eyes glowed red again and this time Junior let the rage well up inside him for just a little bit longer, just enough for one quick burst of power.

"Scotsman…piss…OFF!" Junior roared as a single massive blast of flames erupted from his mouth. The Scotsman pushed back on Jack so that they could avoid the fiery attack. A burst of wind and ash exploded out from where the blast struck and the ground below it became partially molten as it melted through. Junior wanted to go in for the attack again but he suddenly started hacking heavily as his throat coughed up soot.

While he had the chance, the Scotsman turned and looked at Jack, whom was standing directly behind him. "Oh, gods, Laddie…what did they do to ya?" He asked in sad horror, now being close enough to see the full scope of his old friend's transformed state. "Look…it's gonna be alright now, okay?" He said, placing his hand on Jack's remaining shoulder. "Don't know what we can do about the scars but I know a good guy fer limb replacements. Does mor than guns, too. We'll find somethin' mor yer style."

It didn't take the Scotsman long to notice that Jack was not talking back to him, or that Jack's blank expression had not changed even a little since he'd arrived. Even beyond the obvious, something was clearly not right with him.

"Laddie? Come on, man, say some-!" The Scotsman's words found themselves suddenly cut short as Jack's open hand struck his wide throat, stopping his ability to breathe for a moment. In that moment of the warrior's defenselessness, Jack's foot kicked the center of the Scotsman's stomach, knocking the bigger man to his knees as he hunched over in pain. The moment his grip on his sword's hilt loosened Jack snatched it from his hands and took off, running back at Chi once more with the heavy Rune Sword dragging behind him.

Having recomposed himself by enough, Junior rush forward to intercept the man before he could reach her and the two clashed once again, with their battle being nowhere as one-sided as it should have been.

Junior moved like a tornado of metal, spinning and twisting his body to land blow after blow with his two blades. Though he was not used to duel-wielding two weapons at once, he was skilled enough to fight smart, using Dragonslayer's superior reach and weight to land heavy attacks from a short distance while using the katana's slimmer design for faster enclosed attacks. And yet even with an arm and half a foot missing Jack was still able to keep up with him. Junior was too strong and fast for the warrior to land any attacks of his own but he continuously managed to block and dodge Junior's swings, even while using a weapon not his own.

" _What is this guy?!"_ Junior screamed internally as he struggled to kill this opponent who should be no difficulty for him. _"If he is a ragdoll then he shouldn't be this durable! Is it the device on his back? Some kind of enchantment? What?!"_

Junior managed to get behind Jack, swinging his blades at the device in hopes that maybe destroying it would shut the man down. From behind he could see the device more clearly, though save for the fact that it was imbedded in Jack's back it was fairly unremarkable. Smooth polished white metal with a blue Plexiglas sphere in its center, a sphere that lit up as Junior's swords came in close to it.

The blades got within an inch to the device before they were suddenly pushed back by some sort of invisible shield.

" _A force field?!"_ Junior thought in disbelief, before searing pain jolted through his arm. In the moment that Junior's attack had been unexpectedly deflected, Jack had turned and jabbed the broadsword into and through the inner elbow of Junior's arm, specifically the one wielding the katana.

Junior screamed in pain as the sword basically pinned his arm into the ground. Junior tried to swing at Jack with Dragonslayer but already it was too late. Jack had wrestled his katana back from Junior's hand and had leapt out of Dragonslayer's reach, going straight for Chi once again, as was his single-minded purpose.

"NO!" Junior yelled out in dismay, unable to concentrate enough to stretch his Nergal flesh out to grab him in time.

Chi, her attack having drained her strength so much she could no move from where she stood, once again looked up in horror as the gleam of the sacred blade lit up the shadow the descending samurai cast upon her.

The sound of the sword's downward strike seemed to echo throughout the compound.

But tear through blackened flesh, it did not, the end of the blade finding itself firmly inserted into the ground as its target was suddenly moved out of the way.

Where she went was no mystery. As to the surprise of everyone, including Chi herself, the future Shogunness of Darkness found herself floating several feet above the ground, out of the katana's reach.

A footstep forward was heard and as all involved turned their heads to it, they saw who was responsible for the sudden save.

It was a woman, about the same age as Junior and Chi, wearing a long black and red bathrobe. Her determined eyes were of a slightly darker red color and she had long solid black hair that stretched all the way down past her knees and would be nearly to her ankles were it not being partially suspended by the same power she was using to keep Chi afloat.

There were two things of immediate notice about this strange new woman.

The first was her hands, of which she had none. In their place being two heavily bandaged stumps.

The second was the curvature of her large and fairly protruding belly, indicating that this woman was several months pregnant, at the very least.

"M-Mimi?" Junior stared in shock at her sudden appearance.

"MIMI?!" Chi yelled in a panic. "What are you doing here?! Run! Leave! This guy will kill you!"

Mimi seemed to ignore her wife's pleas, using her powers to levitate Chi over to her. She sent Chi down behind her in a standing position while she stood protectively before her. As soon as Chi landed she would have done all she could to push and prod Mimi into leaving, but her fiery attack had still left her massively drained. She still did not yet have the ability to regrow her arms or use any of her other powers and thus could not force her love into doing anything.

As Mimi stood between her wife and her attacker, Junior soon came to the realization that Jack had not at all tried to attack either women after he'd missed, despite even Junior seeing several opportunities for the samurai to do so. In fact, Jack was not moving at all. His sword was still stuck in the ground with his one remaining hand tightly clenching its hilt in…nervousness? Junior didn't know what else to call it, as the formerly inhumanly still hand of the samurai as now shaking badly enough to cause his sword to tremble. And then there were his eyes, now wide and looked like they were in a state of shock to match that of the rest of them. Had this been any other opponent this would not be anything noteworthy. But this was one of the few times the warrior's expression was anything but neutral and cold, and this was a big change from that.

" _Does…does he recognize her?"_ Junior pondered to himself as he looked back and forth between the quaking samurai and the friend the Reaper had not seen in some time.

Junior then felt another surge of pain go through his arm, though this time it was due to the Rune Sword being yanked out by the Scotsman, whom had lumbered over to him after recovering from Jack's sudden beating.

"From the way you lot are goin' on about dis, and da fact dat a pregnant woman is tryin' to protect someone from ol' Jacky boy, I'm guessin' you aren't the ones who did this to him." The Scotsman huffed.

"Figured that out, did you?" Junior said irritably as he got back to his feet.

"Punch to da throat was a bit of a first clue. Laddie always hated using cheap shots. Somethin' about no honor in it."

"That's what it was and not the fact that he beat you senseless?" Junior asked.

"Clearly you've never had a real friend." The Scotsman retorted, almost cracking a smile.

Both Dan and Chi immediately came to Junior's mind. "Huh." He said to himself, surprised at how much the Scotsman's words made sense to him. He then turned his head to the Scotsman but kept his eyes directed at Jack. "Listen, I know we aren't exactly friends…"

"Ya basically sold me." The Scotsman pointed out.

"Not friends in the least." Junior continued. "But from the way you're talking, that man there is, or at least was." Junior nodded his head sharply towards Jack. "I can see that there's a soul in that body, meaning that someone's basically turned your friend into a mind controlled zombie. If you want to save him from that, help me stop him before he kills my friends."

"I'm supposed to trust you?" The Scotsman scoffed.

"You don't have to trust me." Junior said, picking up Dragonslayer with both hands. "Just fight with me until this is done, and then try and kick my ass when you want to escape."

The Scotsman blinked at Junior for a minute before his snaggletoothed mouth opened wide in a smile. "Laddie…you know how ta speak mah language." He complemented before holding the Rune Sword up at his side, ready to charge.

Almost as if he realized the two would soon be coming at him, Jack ripped his sword up from the ground, though the trembling in his hand did not stop. His twitching eyes stared down Mimi and Chi, causing Junior and the Scotsman to prepare to attack.

But it was Mimi who made the first move. Sparks of psionic electricity filled the air, most seeming to center around the pendent in the center of the woman's forehead. Jack held the katana before him, ready for whatever attack she may throw his way.

But it was not an attack that her powers were creating, as they all soon realized. For all around them the area started to get shifty and distorted, like viewing everything around them through a heat wave. And then, starting from the point where Mimi stood, the environment started to drastically change form. In the place of the towering structure of Aku's palace and its surrounding compound walls now stood several tall and heavily damaged skyscrapers, with several more of the like able to be seen in the distance past them, all under a dark pink and cloud-filled sky.

"What in the world…?" The Scotsman said in awe and confusion as both he and Junior stared at their new surroundings.

" **I recognize this place…"** Aku commented aloud, the memories flooding back to him. **"…Megaville."**

Jack seemed to recognize the place too, as the trembling in his hand got suddenly worse.

"Mimi…" Chi asked gently. "Did you just teleport us or-?"

Chi's words were cut off as she and the others heard a noise approaching quickly from behind. Everyone, save for Mimi, turned to face this new arrival. And as the figure leapt into the area, they all saw that it was…Jack?

More specifically, Jack when he was still human and alive, as indicated by his skin's lack of discolorment and stiches. That isn't to say the man hadn't seen better days, given the large number of cuts and bruises running all across his body and open chest.

This newly arrived human Jack stopped his leaping around the city once he'd arrived at this spot. He pulled his katana out of its sheath as he slowly and cautiously walked forward, his eyes darting around the tops of the buildings, watching for any ambushes.

As he walked forward, it seemed like the human Jack could not see any of them, as his eyes passed over them all like they weren't even there. And when he approached the ragdoll version of himself, he simply walked straight through him without pause, much to the horror of the ragdoll Jack, whom quickly turned to continue watching the other.

"It's an illusion?" Junior asked.

" **No."** Aku answered him evenly. **"It is a memory."**

The human Jack continued on his path, his anxiousness seeming to be steadily increasing as even amongst this warzone he saw no signs of anyone.

"They should be here." He said quietly to himself. "I heard the explosions coming from this direction."

"Looking for someone?" Asked a sudden voice from up high. Jack, along with all those viewing the vision that Mimi cast, looked upwards towards it.

Sitting with one leg crossed over the other on the broken windowsill of one of the ruined building was a man in a solid red three-piece suit, with white fur covering the cuffs and collar, with a stylish red cape and sharp pointed sunglasses. His red skin instantly outed him as a demon of sorts, but it was the two large lobster-like claws that he had in place of hands that made him instantly recognizable to all below.

The rage within Chi helped to partially reignite the flames of her eyebrows and Junior gripped the hilt of Dragonslayer so hard his knuckles almost started bleeding. This was what the mere sight of the smug face of HIM could bring out in them.

They were not alone in their hatred of the demon, as the human Jack pointed his sword upwards in HIM's direction, his eyes sharpened into an almost vengeful glare.

"I will make you pay for the lives you have taken this day, demon." Jack growled in his barely restrained contempt.

"Oh, yes, yes. If the beings who can knock planets out of orbit couldn't stop me then surely the guy with the magic butter knife can do it." HIM dryly mocked before taking a sip out of the fine china teacup and saucer he held in his claws. "Bleh. Ginseng." He said in disgust before casually pitching them off the building. When he noticed Jack was still glaring at him, he said "Come on, Jackie boy, are you really going to fight me over this? Other than the fact that I killed your star student, the rest of your students, and the good majority of your residential town, this whole thing really doesn't have anything to do with you. And honestly, after crushing my mortal enemies like bugs, I really don't think I'm going to find you all that entertaining. No offence."

"Is that what you call all these horrors? Entertainment?!" Jack yelled in anger.

"Well I used to call it Saturday night but then more of you heroes kept popping up and wrecking everything. Suppose I could do that again but I'd have to break out my old little black book, see if any of the numbers need to be update-"

Jack leapt up at HIM, the strength even in his weary legs still easily sending him up the several floors needed. He slashed his sword clean through the window space but HIM simply bent himself backwards at an unnatural angle to duck the attack. The demon then leapt from the window and fell to the ground, his cape flapping behind him as he touched down on the broken streets, light as a feather.

"-d. Rude." HIM finished while he straightened his suit jacket. When Jack landed a few feet behind him, clearly ready to attack again, HIM halted him by saying "You know, Jackie Boy, from all that Aku's told me about you I'd figured you more as one of those "deeply compassionate" heroes, rather than a violence first type of fellow."

"What are you talking about, demon?" Jack asked impatiently, not understanding the meaning behind his enemy's words.

"Oh? You mean you really haven't noticed?" HIM asked, obviously feigning surprise. "Hmm, I suppose my nice like pointy ears have a point beyond just being stylish as hell, at least in comparison to whatever those ugly little circles are on the side of your head. Listen…" HIM playfully held one of his claws up to his red ear.

Jack stood defensibly, not wanting to be taken off-guard by the devil's well known trickery. But as the two stood in silence, Jack did indeed start to hear something he hadn't before. Listening in more intently, Jack could make out the sound of a child crying.

"Oh dear…" HIM said with a sinister tone. "Sounds like someone could use a hug."

Jack looked back and forth between the demon and where he could hear the crying coming from, hesitating as he struggled greatly between the two decisions.

But in the end his sense of conscience won out and he quickly ran towards the noise.

The way the vision was structured, all those observing seemed to follow Jack as he ran, though none of them had even lifted a foot off the ground. Chi, though just as mesmerized by the show as the rest, took one quick glance at Mimi and immediately took notice of the blood starting to run down one of her nostrils.

"Mimi! Stop! You're pushing yourself too hard." She begged her quietly, not wanting for them to regain the attention of the ragdoll Jack, whom could not take his eyes off the man he used to be.

Mimi looked back at her for a second, her eyes and expression clearly showing that it was causing her a good deal of pain to continuously use her powers like this. But her shook her head and stared determinately at the ragdoll Jack, not allowing herself to falter in what she was trying to do.

Jack finally came across where the crying was coming from. The moment he laid eyes upon the scene he almost wished he'd found anything else than what he did.

The crying child was a little girl in a long white dress and long black hair tied with a pink bow. It was no secret who this child was. It was Mimi, roughly ten years old. And the woman whose body she laid hunched and sobbing over was her mother, the Powerpuff known as Blossom, laying in a pool of her own blood.

Jack took a single step more forwards towards the horrific scene and felt a sharp crunch underneath his sandal. Lifting his foot up Jack saw a broken pair of circular glasses, presumably having belonged to the Powerpuff.

Pushing his way past his own feelings of horror and sorrow, Jack quickly rushed over to Mimi, kneeling down to the sobbing child, whom would not lift up her head from her mother's body.

"Mimi…" He said gently. "Mimi, it's me. Sensei Jack. Remember?" When she still would not look up at him, Jack moved to carefully pick her up and bring her in close to him, which she thankfully gave little resistance to. "…It's going to be alright, Mimi." He said as he held her. "I'll keep you safe. I won't let anything happen to-urk!"

Jack could not get the last words out as the sudden pain filled his body. He looked down to his chest and saw the knife that was now plunged into his heart.

"M…Mimi…!" Jack stuttered before the small girl pulled the knife out and jabbed it back in repeatedly, stabbing the samurai multiple times with the weapon, blood spraying across her white dress with every strike. Though tears were coming out at a constant stream, Mimi's eyes were almost solid white in color and there was no true expression of any kind on her face. What sort of horrors her father could have inflicted upon her this day to bring her to such a state, one couldn't even imagine.

And speaking of the devil, the fine leather footstep of HIM could be heard quite clearly as he casually walked up behind the kneeling samurai.

"Well now, guess you proved me wrong, Jackie Boy." HIM said, patting the man's shoulder as Jack bled out. "That was fun."

Jack glared at the demon with all his hatred. He wanted to take his sword and strike this monster down where he stood. But his body was in too much pain and he did not have the strength left to lift his arm.

"Come along, Mimi." HIM commanded as he walked past the two without giving Jack a second glace. "I'm sure we can find at least a few more lives to ruin before ol' Grim starts making his rounds."

Mimi turned and mindlessly walked towards her father. Jack, using the last vestiges of strength he had left, pushed himself forwards and wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from going any further. This finally caused HIM to take a look back.

"I…will…" Jack coughed as blood ran down his mouth and jaw. "I will not...let you take her…"

HIM looked at the man for a moment before simply shrugging his shoulders. "If you say so… Not like it's going to be that long of a wait." He commented, casually strolling back to them. He wasn't exactly wrong, as Jack's vision was quickly becoming dark and blurry and it was taking everything he had just to stay awake.

As HIM took another step closer to the two, Jack gripped his katana hard and thrust it straight forward, pointing the sacred blade towards the demon and warning him not to come any further.

"Oh don't flatter yourself." HIM told him. "I'm just getting a good seat."

HIM took a seat on some of the rubble, crossing his legs to get in a comfortable position as he watched Jack try to stay alive. In spite of his grave injuries, the samurai's arms held strong, one holding Mimi tightly while the other kept his blade aimed at HIM. And though the color and texture started to fade from his vision, Jack kept his defiant gaze fixed upon the demon, refusing to show weakness.

This stalemate went on for several minutes longer, with HIM whistling a tone throughout most of it. Once enough time had passed for some of Jack's blood on the ground to become dry, HIM finally seemed to be at the end of some of his patience. "Look, we've got places to be. Are you really going to keep doing this?"

Jack did not answer back, his position holding still.

A bit too still, HIM seemed to notice, as he soon got up out of his seat and walked over to the two. "Hello?" He called as he waved his claw in front of Jack's eyes, which did not move or blink in the slightest. The demon snapped his claws in front of the man's face like one would do with their fingers and Jack gave no reaction.

Though it was supposedly only a memory they were viewing, Junior could feel it was though it was truly happening in front of him. His Reaper abilities made it clear to him just few minutes ago when it happened. Jack was dead.

HIM gave a tug on the arm that held his daughter and to his surprise, it would not budge. Though the man had passed his body still continued on he's final actions.

"Christ. You heroes. Always so dramatic." HIM sighed in slight annoyance as he pulled a large cleaver knife out from his suit jacket. "Mimi, you might want to hold still for this part." He said, lining up the knife's blade with Jack's arm. His eyes then gave a pondering look to the side before shrugging. "Or…don't. Doesn't matter. Going to be using this again in a little bit anyway."

HIM lifted the cleaver up high.

The eyes of both the ragdoll Jack and the present day Mimi flinched when he brought it back down.

Slowly, starting once again from where Mimi stood, the fallen city shifted back to Aku's domain.

All in the area had fallen silent, no words feeling strong enough to push their way up their throats. Drops of blood dripped a bit more from Mimi's nose and one of her stump hands held her forehead as her legs wobbled in dizziness. Chi, still with no arms to hold her wife with, used her body as a backdrop for Mimi to help steady herself on so that she didn't fall over.

"After all that happened…" The Scotsman finally said. "All we went through, all we fought fer…after finally winnin' over Aku back in our time…Laddie was killed…by a child…" His words were not angry. In fact, this was easily the quietest and most sullen Junior had heard the warrior become in the short time he'd known him. Not that he could blame him. The man in that vision…even in those few minutes Junior had seen a man so much more proud and heroic than the mindless killing machine he'd been fighting. The tragedy was not lost on him. And by the look of it, it was not lost on the ragdoll either.

Jack's eyes were as wide as could be as they constantly twitched. His face grimaced in confusion as he shook badly, like his mind and body no longer knew what to do with themselves and could find no agreement between the two.

The shaking only seemed to get worse when Mimi finally stood up a bit straighter and stared directly into his eyes. She took a single step forward and placed herself defiantly between Jack and Chi.

As though his legs were made of stone, Jack slowly and stiffly placed one foot in front of the other as he lumbered closer to the two women, the expression on his pained face staying in its constant state. Junior and the Scotsman ran forward to protect them but Mimi raised one of her stumps at them, signaling for them to stop where they were.

Mimi's eyes never left where they lay, as now she found herself face-to-face with the mutilated remains of a hero she'd once known.

Having arrived to where she was, Jack's remaining arm lifted the sacred blade up as high as he could bring it. The sword trembled wildly in his hand as the ragdoll man no longer had the ability to keep it straight. His arm seemed stuck in place as stood, struggling hard as it wanted to come down upon the head of the girl who stood before him and yet at the same time fought the urge to do so. His face twitched horribly, like an endless number of thoughts consumed his mind all at once.

Finally, something within the man broke, and the sword came swinging down.

"NO!" A yell that echoed throughout the compound from a single source.

As the echo faded off into the distance, Mimi still stood, the bodies of her and her lover unharmed. And before the two, kneeling on the ground, was the hunched over figure of the samurai, his hand with a tight grip on his sword's hilt as he'd deliberately stabbed it into the ground between the three. And for the first time since he'd arrived in the Shogun's domain, he was panting.

"No matter what…has been done to my body…or my mind…I will never…allow my family's blade…to bring harm to an innocent…" The warrior said, his throat sounding so dry after not speaking for so long.

Mimi slowly made her way down onto her knees as she put herself on eye level with the kneeling samurai. She placed her stump hand gently on his back and Jack slowly lifted his head up to see her.

"…Mimi?" He asked, looking at woman through tired eyes.

Mimi nodded her head, small tears starting to well up in her red eyes and trail down her checks as the rest of her face did its best to remain solid.

A small, but very soft smile broke across the samurai's face. "You've grown up so much…" He said, his words holding a quiet bit of happiness.

Mimi pushed herself forward and wrapped her arms around Jack's body, hugging him tightly as she buried her wet face into his shoulder. After a bit of effort, Jack's hand released its grip on the katana's hilt, with some surprise coming to his face that he was even able to do so, before placing his remaining arm across her backside as he hugged her back, eyes closed as he felt some of his humanity return to him.

When the hug finally broke, Jack said "When I last saw you…I was afraid we'd lost you to Kare forever. The relief in my soul knows no bounds to see you safe and away from him." He then looked back at Chi, whom was still standing behind Mimi, understandably unsure of how to react to him now, before his eyes gazed downwards at Mimi's large belly. "…Though I do admit I have some mixed feelings about this."

Mimi gave him a sly smile (for her anyway) and Chi looked off to the side, her cheeks slightly red from embarrassment.

Jack was then surprised as he found himself suddenly picked up and hugged in the air by the large arms of the Scotsman, whom no one had noticed coming over due to the emotion of the moment.

"OH HO HO HO HA! Laddie! It's good ta have ya back!" The warrior laughed joyously as he held his friend up.

"Scotsman?" Jack said in surprise. "How…how can this be? How are you here?"

"Oh, come on now. Ya don't remember who helped ya storm the fort during the last battle?" The Scotsman smiled as he set the samurai down. "Ran inta the time portal after Aku after he went in after you. I was just a few minutes behind ya both and yet I get here ta this dump years after you both did. I pop on out of the portal an it turns out you already took care of everything! Couldn't even leave a few of Aku's scraps fer yer old pal before ya chased the sissy down ta the Underworld!" He laughed, slapped Jack heartily on the back.

Jack's weakened legs nearly tumbled over from the slap and yet it still brought a smile to his face, as he was greatly happy to see his old friend again. Though that smile was certainly quick to fade as he saw the Shogun of Darkness himself, standing off to the side after approaching slightly.

"Aku." Jack said simply, as Mimi help him stay standing.

" **Samurai."** Aku replied just as simply. There was understandably a good bit of awkward tension between the two age old enemies, not quite help by the fact that the two had rarely ever met each other while on similar eye levels.

Aku rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, not quite knowing what to say after all this time. **"Sooo…uh…you're probably wondering-"**

"I'm sorry." Jack said.

" **I-…Wh…what?"** Aku asked in confusion.

"I'm sorry." Jack repeated honestly. "I'm sorry for what I almost took from you." His eyes tilted a glace over at Chi. Aku stood in stunned silence for a moment before an unconscious chuckle worked its way up his throat, as the Dark Lord was reminded once again of everything he loathed, and yet strangely enough respected, about his old enemy. He was unbearably righteous.

"And…I am sorry…" Jack continued. "…that I may be about to attempt to take it again." He looked at his hand, still trembling as he fought to keep it under control. "Mimi…take my sword and keep it away from me."

Mimi hesitated at first, not wanting to leave his side, but soon relented. Though she had no hands to grab the hilt with, Mimi placed her stumps at both sides of the sword underneath the weapon's guard and used them to pull it up from out of the ground. Afterwards she walked a few feet back and stood behind Chi, whom gladly stood to protect her, just in case.

"My time is short." Jack said. "I don't know how much longer I can resist what they programmed into me." The device that was implanted into Jack's back had been continuously making a strained whining sound since the moment he refused to strike down Mimi. The glass in the center was blinking and the device made several more smaller noises to indicate it was trying to correct the problem. "You must strike me down before I can inflict any more harm."

"Laddie, no…" The Scotsman said, trying to argue with him. "We can help ya. Get ya back to yer old self again."

"There is no undoing what has been done to me." Jack told him. "There never has been, has there?"

His question was not aimed at those surrounding him but rather Junior, who still stood several feet away from them all. He was trying to keep his distance, though only a few of the group knew from whom.

"…No." Junior answered sullenly, trying to keep his mind from going too far back in his memories. "There isn't."

Jack turned back to his friends. "It's more than just this device on my back that is keeping me in check." He explained. "The people who did this to me…they did something to my mind…to my soul. They made me into this, but not just to kill your daughter, Aku. They activated me early for this, but their true plans for me were for…for…something else." Jack held his head in pain as he tried to remember. "Something bigger."

" **What?"** Aku questioned him. **"What is the plan? Who is doing this? And why do they want my daughter killed?"**

"I don't…I don't know." Jack answered, his breathing starting to get a bit heavier. "They didn't talk that much when…when they were doing this to me." His eyes shut tightly as bits of memories and images flashed through his head, along with the voices from the back of his head that commanded he finish his task. Mimi looked pleadingly at Jack, wanting to do something to help him, but stayed where she was, knowing that there was little she could do. "The only thing I remember is…is…"

Finally, something came through to him.

"You…Reaper Child." He said, looking over at Junior. "Your name…is Grim Jr, yes?"

Junior gave a slightly hesitant nod.

"They talked about you. Whenever they spoke around me, it was almost always about you…" Jack told him. "…You must warn your family. They are in great danger. The ones who did this to me…they…they want revenge…"

"Who?" Junior asked, suddenly feeling a sense of dread that he hadn't before.

"Their enemies of old…" Jack struggled to say, those this time it did not seem like it was because he was struggling with remembering. "Enemies…brought together by a man who hates your mother and father more than any other. His name is…his name is…" Jack then seemed like he was starting to choke as the words refused to leave his mouth. As he continued to try and force it out, the inside of Jack's mouth started to glow and glittering white light and energy seeped out the sides of his mouth.

"Father, what's happening to him?!" Chi yelled as they all watched Jack struggle in horror.

" **It's a Master's Brand."** Aku said, recognizing the effects as he got in close to Jack. **"It's an arcane magic that I have not seen in centuries. It's a seal that a master places upon their very loyal or very broken servants, to keep them from spilling their master's secrets."**

"Can you undo it?" Chi asked, practically begging as she saw the pain in her wife's eyes as she watched Jack suffer.

Aku made the attempt to do so, reaching his hand into Jack's mouth to touch the brand. But his attempt upon contact was met with crackles of black electricity striking his hand as the Shogun's own power failed to override the magic. He pulled his hand back from both pain and shock at his failure. How could the magic be greater than his own?

But due to the brief darkness caused by the black electricity, all around him were able to get a quick glimpse of the symbol that had been branded upon Jack's tongue. It was a pentagram, a five-pointed star. The lines were all a solid blood red color, a bit difficult to make out in the color of Jack's tongue. The rest was far easier to see. From the upper left point on the star to the lower pit across from it, the star was split, with bright pink on the lower half and golden yellow on the upper half.

Out of everyone in the group, Aku was the only one who recognized the mark and his eyes grew wide in fear at the sight of it. _**"That symbol…! It cannot be! No one's heard from him in years! We'd thought…no…prayed that he'd left this plane of existence!"**_

"Junior…!" Jack finally was able to force out. His hand shook badly and he could no longer breathe, as all of his strength fought to keep himself out of another's control. "Beware…the Boogieman…and his allies. Beware the Boogieman and his…and his…!"

The last word escaped from his lips as barely a whisper, too quiet for even those right next to him to hear it, before the trembling finally stopped and his eyes went from kind to neutral.

Jack's body shot at Chi and Mimi like a bullet, his arm reaching out them.

One swing of a sword later and it was finally over.

The two halves of Jack's body hit the ground as Junior sheathed Dragonslayer back on his back, now standing on the opposite side of the group. The exposed circuits of the device embedded in Jack sparked madly. It'd been diverting too much energy and power into reigning Jack back in, leaving not nearly enough to protect itself before Junior had cut through it.

The group all stood in silence, no one wanting to say anything. Junior swallowed, having just added another layer of guilt to his conscious.

"…I didn't want any of you to have to do it." Was all he said, not even looking back at them as he said it. No one said anything back to him, though anger was certainly not the dominant emotion of the group at the time.

Mimi slowly lowered herself to look closer at Jack, taking care not to cut herself with the sword as she still held it, along with the Scotsman, whom out of them all looked the most unsure about what to do now. The electricity of the device finally died out, just as the rest of Jack already had. The color had faded slightly from the samurai's eyes, indicating that he'd finally been allowed to die for the second time.

Chi knelt down to be with her wife and help comfort her, as she could tell Mimi was doing what she could to hold it together. Though after a minute or two, Chi noticed something.

"Junior…where's your sister?" She asked him.

Junior's head perked up and he looked from one side of the compound to the other.

"…Fuck."

* * *

… **A few minutes ago…**

Daniela had never once seen her adoptive father fight. Because of this she'd grown up under the assumption that Grim simply was not a fighter. He was powerful, certainly. She doubted her mother would have married him otherwise. But that power was limited to the responsibilities of his job as Death. There was no greater master of the dead and their souls than he, and the scythe was one of the greatest artifacts in all the Underworld, giving him even more power to spare. But he was still a fragile skeleton and not nearly as commanding of respect as Mandy was. He could make others fight for him, but fighting for himself was an unfavorable option.

This entire mindset was something Daniela had come to seriously reevaluate in the few short minutes she'd spent fighting this alien-looking Grim Reaper.

It wasn't just that she was exhausted. He knew how to use his scythe very well, its slashes coming close to heavily mutilating her as he swung the awkward weapon with deadly speed. Daniela only received one cut from it, a gash across the arm. It thankfully wasn't too deep but it also came with a side effect, the cut feeling like it was infecting her with a sense of despair and hopelessness. Like the scythe had the ability to drain on her will to live.

She'd fought through the feeling as best she could. Knowing power was something she lacked in comparison, Daniela used her variety of abilities to her advantage, splitting herself off from a clone to keep the Reaper occupied while she stayed invisible and would attempt to take him by surprise.

But after he made short work of the copy, cut her in half like she was nothing, the alien Reaper turned directly towards the invisible Daniela. "I see you." He said playfully, his words deliberately filling her with dread before he struck her with a blast of power from the end of his scythe. Daniela's body felt like it was nothing but pain for a solid minute before it finally ended and she fell to her back on the ground.

She reacted just in time to grab hold of the scythe's staff before the Reaper struck her down with it.

And thus, where she found herself now. On the ground, her arms helplessly struggling against the alien Reaper's scythe as he slowly worked its blade closer and closer to her neck.

"Stop struggling." The Reaper said as he smiled menacingly, his anger seeming to have gone down some now that he had the one who'd shot him out of the sky at his mercy. "Struggling only makes it last longer."

Daniela was so filled with fear that she started to cry, hot tears streaming their way down her terrified face as her strength was being overwhelmed fast, her life so close to being taken that she could almost feel the cold metal of the blade against her skin.

" _Junior…help…please…"_ She begged inside her head as she sobbed. _"I don't want to die!"_

Her tears bought her no pity from the alien Reaper, who seemed to revel in the hopelessness he instilled in the teen. His boney green face was stretched out in a sadistic grin, with his visible breath pushing across her face now that he was so close to her.

It was a minute later that the Reaper realized how strange it was that he could see his breath.

"What…w-what are you doing?" The Reaper demanded to know, as he suddenly started to feel an unbelievable cold start to spread through his body, starting from his hands. Daniela had no idea what he was talking about, too focused on keeping his scythe at bay to notice what was going on with him. Though she certainly did not fail to notice when frost and ice crystals started to spread out all across the staff of the scythe, nor when icicles started to develop and hang off the blade.

"What…what…?" Daniela stuttered as her racing and overwhelmed mind started to panic. She had no idea what was happening and the feeling of intense cold was quickly filling her. Her teeth couldn't stop chattering and her body started to feel like it was going numb.

But through it all, the strangest feeling she had was that the cold in her body almost seemed to be…moving. Migrating across her form and gathering at her hands. She couldn't explain the feeling she was having. It was like the cold was gathering so that it could wait for her to release it, much in the same way her ecto-blasts would occasionally feel if she'd been charging for too long.

Without quite know how she did it, Daniela released the cold.

From her hands emerged a torrent of ice and snow, travelling along what seemed to be, for that of a better description, a wave of cold energy. This power knocked the Reaper far back off and away from her, his path only stopping as he became frozen inside a large wall of solid ice, his surprised and pained reaction perfectly preserved.

Daniela breathed and panted hard, the feeling of cold now having completely left her body. Everything in front of her that the cold wave had touched was now completely frozen over, with sharp icicles sticking outwards away from her like spears. Daniela looked downwards at her palms. "What…how did I…?"

She was lost in thought for a moment before Daniela's attention was regained by the sound of the ice surround the Reaper starting to crack before it simply exploded outwards, likely do to the power of his scythe. The Reaper stepped out of his icy prison, though noticeably holding his arms in close to himself in an effort to war up.

"C-c-cute t-trick, brat!" He stuttered as he shivered. "B-b-but it's n-not going to s-save you a second t-t-time!" He told her, raising his scythe up at her. "T-this time I'll-!"

He then stopped midsentence and shifted his gaze over to the distance. Though he was staring at what appeared to be just the blank walls of the hot springs and the palace, Daniela quickly remembered that the direction the Reaper was looking in was the same in which the battle with the samurai was taking place. And given that the man was a Reaper, presumably like Grim, then he had the ability to sense souls.

"Jack was just...killed?!" The alien Reaper said aloud, in a mix of both realization and anger. "No! Dammit! He didn't even get Chi first! And if he's dead, then that means Aku will realize I'm here any second!" His hate filled glare then fell on Daniela. "You damn brat! You and your brother's damn meddling have ruined every-huh?" The Reaper stopped himself as he felt a hand suddenly grip his shoulder.

Both the Reaper and Daniela gave a jump at the appearance of the man who now stood behind the Reaper. A man whom a second ago had certainly not been there before.

"Relax. I've got you." The man in the long white jacket and dark shades said casually as he placed his index and middle fingers on his forehead.

The Reaper's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of him. "Wait, you're-!" And just like that, they were both gone. Not even a second between when they were there and when they weren't.

That left Daniela still standing there, her brain still reacting to the sudden disappearance of the man who was just trying to kill her. She stood in a default defensive stance as she waited for something more, anything more, to attack her.

Several minutes passed and still she refused to move. She then heard the sound of flapping wings. She turned her head weakly to face it, but to her relief, it was Junior, flying down towards her.

"Daniela, oh my god." Junior said as soon as he landed, upon seeing how cut up and ragged she looked. "Are you okay? Is anything broken? Did they do anything to-?!"

And before he could get another word in, Daniela collapsed into his chest, her eyes closed and her body feeling so tired she could just fall asleep right there.

Junior stood stunned for a minute as he held her to keep his sister from falling to the ground, but his face soon gave way to a soft smile, relieved to see that she was alive and mostly unharmed.

Junior shifted her body so that he could carry her bridal style before his wings stretched out and started flapping.

"Relax. I've got you." He said gently to her as they flew off to join the others.

* * *

"Another Reaper?" Junior asked as he checked the injury to his sister's arm. "Are you sure?"

"Mostly." Daniela answered honestly. "He was certainly more unusual looking than father, but the powers he showed off and his scythe were almost just like his." Daniela gave a small wince in pain as her injury stung from Junior cleaning off the blood. "…Do you not believe me?" She asked.

"No, I do." Junior assured her. "Certainly explains how Jack able to be turned into a ragdoll." _"And this cut, too."_ Junior added to himself as he noticed the injury wasn't healing. It likely was never going to on its own. _"Anything cut by the Grim Reaper's scythe stays cut. Forever."_ From his finger Junior's Nergal flesh stretched itself out until it was like a fine string. The end of it glinted as it sharpened out into a point and, by Junior's command, it moved on its own to start stitching up the wound.

"Ow." Daniela winced when it made its first incision.

"Sorry." Junior apologized before continuing. "But knowing that there is another Reaper doesn't help us too much, given that we still don't know what he wanted. At least from how you described him we know what happened to that Martian Grim Reaper mom and dad dealt with years ago. Can I get some bandages over here?" Junior called out.

"Of course, sir." Said one of the many red clad servants in the courtyard, though unlike most of the others this one wore a white doctor's coat with the red cross logo on. He walked quickly over to Junior with a roll of them and Junior thanked him politely as he took them. The servant then rushed back over to where Chi and Mimi sat. Chi's arms had finally managed to partially reform themselves now that she'd been allowed time to recover. They were as thin and sticklike as they could be but for now the weak appendages were sufficient to her needs, as they stayed wrapped caringly around her wife and her belly. Jeff was the one worriedly checking the two for injuries while the servants stood at his call. Mimi sat still and allowed her life-long nanny to do his job while she still held Jack's sword in her arms, the bladed weapon safely covered after the servants had found its sheathe.

There was a noticeably large gap between where they sat and from where Junior was tending to his sister, though no one brought it up. There were a few other things that one could also take notice of if they paid enough attention. Junior had his back deliberately turned towards to two, and while Chi seemed to be keeping one cautious eye on him, Mimi seemed to be deliberately avoiding looking in his direction. But again, does who did notice this were not foolish enough to point it out.

"Is the baby going to be okay?" Chi asked Jeff in quiet worry.

Jeff had been running the end of the stethoscope one of the servants had given him to use across Mimi's belly, the spider being one of the very few people Mimi was comfortable enough to let get this close to her. When he was done he took the device of his head and have her smiling nod. "That baby's going to be fine."

Chi gave a sigh of relief. She then felt Mimi's body relax slightly as she fell a bit more into her arms, which brought a small smile to Chi's face. Though her wife's outward expression would not show it, she'd been just as worried Chi was.

Putting on a more stoic face, Chi called over to Daniela. "Daniela, what about this man in white that you saw?" She asked to younger woman.

'I'm afraid there isn't much that I can tell you. I didn't get a good look at the man." Daniela explained while Junior wrapped the bandages over her stiches. "One minute he was just suddenly there and the next he was gone."

"Do you think it was the same kind of cloaking tech this… Morg, did you say? ...used before?"

"Maybe, but not likely." Junior answered for her. "Most don't know this but we Reaper's do still have souls. They're just a bit different from everyone else's. Even if this guy in white somehow didn't have a soul, I still would have sensed Morg's."

"You didn't before." Chi pointed out.

"That's because I was too focused on figuring out what the hell Jack was." Junior retorted. "I was actively looking for souls when I went to find Daniela. I would have sensed them if there was anyone else there and there wasn't."

"Perhaps they simply teleported away." Daniela suggested.

"That's impossible." Chi stated flat out as fact. "My father's seal around the city prevents anyone other than himself from opening portals within the city limits. No one can simply teleport in and out at will."

"So that means that the presence of our mystery man is either impossible…or very, very concerning." Junior commented. He then turned back to Daniela. "Was the guy blue at all?"

Daniela blinked for a minute at the unexpected and strange question. "No…no, I don't think so."

Junior nodded his head at the information. "Well…at least we know it's not likely our mystery man is the Boogieman then. Dad used to occasionally rant about the guy when I was younger and the phrase "blue, big-nosed bastard" came up quite often. Along with some other words I probably shouldn't say in polite company."

Daniela smiled slightly, appreciating her older brother's attempt at levity. As the group continued to talk and argue ideas, Aku reentered the scene from the side, having previously stepped away for a moment to gather his strength.

No one noticed him yet as he slid in, save for Demongo, whom quickly floated over to his master to speak with him.

"My lord. The samurai's body. It has gone missing." Demongo informed the ruler in a hushed tone.

" **As I'm sure you'll find is the Scotsman."** Aku replied simply, seeming unfazed by the news.

Demongo quickly understood the meaning behind his master's words. "I see. Should we send out a squad to recapture him then? He can't have gotten far from the palace in such a short time. He's likely still in the city actu-"

" **No."** Aku cut him off. **"Let the man mourn and bury his friend. We have other things to worry about."**

Demongo could help but feel a bit surprised and questioning of his master's decision. "My lord, I mean no disrespect but are you sure that is wise? The device in the samurai's back could be studied and give us some clue as to who was behind this atta-"

" **Demongo…"** Aku warned him darkly. **"Let. It. Go."**

Demongo was quickly taken aback by fear of his master and soon he relented. "Y-yes. Of course, my lord. Whatever you say."

Aku glared at Demongo for a moment, just to make sure he'd gotten the message fully across, before he continued on his way over to the group. **"Junior."** He addressed the Reaper, getting everyone else's attention as well. **"I need to have words with you."**

"What is it?" Junior asked as he stood from where he'd been tending to Daniela.

" **It is concerning the samurai's sword."** Aku explained evenly.

Junior's eye's widened by a fraction of an inch at the ruler's words, though he kept the rest of his face in check. Even before the Shogun said anything more, Junior could already tell where this was going to go.

" **As I'm sure you've put together, the samurai paired himself with this weapon during our many years of conflict because it is one of the sole means of ending my life, as well as the life of my beloved daughter. As such I have always taken great care to make sure that I know exactly whose hands hold ownership of blade. And the last person to claim this weapon as theirs before this day…was your mother. Kept stored away within her prized vault."**

Aku eyed Junior with great accusation while everyone else slowly put together what he was getting at. Junior, however, said nothing.

" **Mandy's vault is well known for its impenetrable nature. Safely guarded again any thieves foolish enough to attempt to steal from her. Nothing leaves that woman's vault unless she** _ **allows**_ **it."** Aku said, making the meaning behind his words quite clear. He then paused for a moment. **"However, Mandy herself is not one known for sharing, especially not when it comes to her beloved trophies. Thus, this leaves me in some confusion, and with a question that perhaps only you Junior, will give me an honest answer to. Junior…how is it that this sword ended up in the hands of those whom wished to assassinate my daughter?"**

All was quiet as tension filled the entire area between the two, before Junior finally gave his answer.

"I don't know." Junior lied with a straight face. "But I'm going to find out."

Aku's eye's squinted slightly, looking hard at the Reaper as if he was studying him.

"… **See to it that you do."** Aku said, his gruff voice giving no indication as to whether he believe him or not. **"Until then…the sword shall stay with us."**

"Of course." Junior agreed without a fight. Aku in return gave a simple nod of his head before he turned and made his way back to the palace without another word.

Chi, having been engrossed by her father and Junior's conversation, took a moment before she realized Mimi was lightly tapping her, trying to get her attention. "What…?" Chi asked as her beloved pointed back towards the palace, her eyes and body moving to communicate in a way that only those who'd know her for a long time could really understand. "Oh…are you sure?" She asked, getting a nod in response. "Well…alright then… Jeff, could you please help me take Mimi back upstairs?"

"What? Oh, yeah, of course." The spider complied happily as he carefully lifted Mimi up in two of his arms while she held on with her arms around his neck. Before they all started walking away Jeff said "Hey, Mimi, don't you want to say good-bye to Junior first?" before Chi waved her hand, signaling for him to drop the subject. "…Right…sorry…" He said sadly before he carried Mimi of into the palace, with Chi and most of the servants following behind. The rest simply returned to their duties.

Daniela watched as they walked away and for a belief moment saw something her brother did not, as he still stood facing away from them. From Mimi she saw the same soft red eyes as she had before when they'd arrived in this place. And those eyes were looking back at the two with sad guilt before they disappeared into the darkness of the building.

"That woman…" Daniela asked. "He called her Mimi. Is she the same Mimi who helped you escape HIM when you were a child?"

Junior gave her no answer in response, staying quiet for a full minute before finally saying "Come on. We've got to get home and tell everyone what we've learned."

"R-right." Daniela said as she got back up to her feet.

Junior's wings once again spread out from his back, flapping them with grace as he and his sister took off to the skies.

"…Couldn't you just call them on your phone?" Daniela pointed out soon as she thought of it.

"Jack chopped it in half when he chopped into me. And mom sure as hell won't accept calls from one of Aku's lines."

"Fair point."

As the two flew high and away from the palace, Aku watched them go as he stood in a room alone inside.

His daughter-in-law's projected memory of Megaville's fall had brought up some old memories of his own from that day as well. He remembered that he was the one to last speak to the samurai before he met his end at the hands of Kare's evil. And he remembered that his last words to the man had been a question.

He'd asked the samurai why he continued to fight for this new world. Why did he continue to struggle on when this new time that he'd made home could not be saved like theirs could? What was the point?

When Jack had not answered him back right away, Aku had thought it was because the samurai knew that there was no answer to that question.

And yet, a moment later, the samurai still gave him his answer.

" _Because though it is easy to forget now, our battles seemed hopeless as well."_ Jack had said to him. _"And yet in the end…I still won."_

Aku had dismissed this words as foolish. The last words of a man trying to justify his wasted existence. But as time had passed, Aku came to realize more what Jack's words had meant.

Back in their old world, when Aku had constantly and angrily question why he could never kill this one man like he had so many others, his followers theorized that he and the samurai were like yin and yang; two unstoppable forces on opposite sides, forced to be forever locked into battle with each other with no victor ever to emerge from their struggle.

But eventually a victor did emerge, and it was Jack. Good had made a grand, solid triumph over evil, one that was never taken away.

This impossible thing that had occurred is what strengthened the samurai's belief. It was why he kept fighting on that hopeless day. Because no matter how bad things became, no matter how much he and all others were forced to struggle, it was his belief that good would eventually always triumph over evil, for that is what the universe showed him its nature to be.

Jack did not fight because he thought he would win. He fought because he knew good would.

" _ **Would you still hold that same belief now, my old rival, if you could see what the world has become since your death?"**_ Aku thought solemnly. _**"As strange as it is for a being of my nature, I almost wish I could believe the same, knowing what is to come."**_

With the tip of his finger lit aflame, Aku drew the pentagram star in the air with his fire, cutting a line through it diagonally where the pink and gold had intersected. For a few minutes he simply stood watching the picture burn as he sifted through his thought.

The mysterious man whom the ghost girl had seen…it had to be him. It wasn't just the mark that branded Jack's tongue or that this stranger could go in and out of his realm so easily with Aku sensing it that had convinced the Shogun ruler. It was the samurai himself that had done that.

Out of all that'd been present as Jack struggled to give them his warning, Aku was the only one who'd managed to make out what the final word had been.

" _Beware the Boogieman and his_ _master_ _."_

The God of Magic had returned.

* * *

As Junior and Daniela flew through the open sky above Aku City, they had no idea how closely they were being watched from below. How long they'd been being watched the entire time from afar, as the large orange frame of Lantern stepped out from the darkness of one of the alleys below.

"No more waiting." He said to himself as he watched them fly.

 **Chapter End**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Sorry about the long wait on this chapter. Not making any promises when the next one will be because that always ends up making it late.

And speaking of late, insert Mimi joke here. And don't worry, I'm going to do a lot more with her throughout the story and the fact that she's pregnant.

So recapping what's happened so far, our heroes have discovered that there is a plot against their family, being orchestrated apparently by Grim old enemy, the Boogieman. As well as a few others apparently, such as Morg, the Grim Reaper of Mars, and the mysterious man in the white jacket, whom Aku seems to have some knowledge of. Knowledge which he chose not to share with the others for some reason.

So the Scotsman has gone off who knows where with what remains of Jack's body, Chi and Mimi are staying in the palace to recover from the battle, and Junior and Daniela are flying off to warn their family of what's going on, while the robotic Lantern watches them from a distance.

Also Daniela now has ice powers. …Make of that what you will.

 **QTP:** Who or what is this God of Magic? Why was Morg also in Aku's compound when Jack attacked? Who else other than Morg and Lantern has allied themselves with the Boogieman? How is Mimi not only pregnant, but in human form as well? Why did Mimi want to leave without saying goodbye to Junior? Why did Aku tell Demongo to let Jack's body go? Where did Daniela's new ice powers come for? Is this the last we'll see of Samurai Jack?


	9. Pumpkin punch to the face

**Part 9: Pumpkin punch to the face**

 **nightmaster000:** Yeah, sorry about how late this came. Going to try and update a bit more often this year, but of course, no promises as I don't know what could pop up. But no matter what I'm going to finish this story eventually, so don't worry about that. Mum's the word on the deal with Mimi's child right now though. Don't want to say too much too soon.

 **DPSS:** To answer your question, don't worry, Daniela's going to still be greatly involved in the story no matter what happens with her and Junior. And since Junior is the biggest part of the story, she'll still be involved with him.

1\. Yeah, I'm not really expecting anyone to guess who this s until more clues have been dropped, as I really haven't given any major one's yet, other than that he's a dude who has a thing with magic. I will confirm that he is not an OC, but he is a character that has been heavily changed from how he once was and there will be a reason given in-story as to why that is.

2\. You are correct, sir!

3\. Right on the first one. Not saying anything yet on the second, but Minnie is definitely going to appear later in the story with her own role to play in all this.

4\. I'm glad people remember this about Chi, given what Aku/Ikra said about their species regarding genders. And the latter certainly would fit with a deal with HIM.

5\. Probably.

6\. Correct, not to mention that Aku already seems to have an idea who sent Jack after his family anyway.

7\. Correct, though that does beg the question: Since Manny is a child of Dan too, has he have ice powers as well?

8\. That certainly would be one way to make something deader than dead.

 **Lord Razer:** Keep in mind I said you were technically correct about giving HIM an heir. And an heir doesn't necessarily have to be related by blood. Not saying you're right and not saying you're wrong, because I'm a cryptic bastard that's afraid of giving too many spoilers when I don't know how to shut my mouth.

But I do agree that Mimi would be a mama bear either way with her child, especially after what happened to her as a kid. Shame about what happened with Griddles, the original writer for Grim Tales. He was going to come back to the comic but things apparently fell through with Bleedman and it didn't happen. He even wrote a few scripts for the story and they involved Jewel and Daniela in a pretty cool way. If you search the comments section of the Grim Tales page: Grim's Tale, he posted a link to them.

 **desdelor97:** Thank you.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Yeah, but I don't think Daniela's going to be making dresses out of ice anytime soon. I like that movie but I still don't get how that worked. I do like your theory about her powers though.

The flashback Mimi showed wasn't necessarily meant to be like what Horror's Hand showed her in the original story. It was more just Mimi using her telepathic powers to make a memory that connected her and Jack together visible to all. True she never used her powers to quite that extent before but that's why she started bleeding, as the strain was a bit too much for her. Besides, I imagine Jack's worst memory would have been when he was a child and Aku enslaved his home.

 **AMTT94:** Yeah, sorry again for how late it was. To answer some of your questions, it's my theory that the reason Mimi is sterile in the actual comic is because of the Devil's Essence or Red as it's sometimes called and that does something to her body while it's attached. As for Chi, she can still change gender will Aku can but for whatever reason she tends to just stay female. She can become male if she wants to (or at least grow the private parts of one). She just doesn't want to.

Well, the DC heroes and Batman clearly exist in the PPGD and Grim Tales universe, so I'd imagine so would the Lazarus Pits. Though I can't imagine throwing a badly damaged ragdoll in one of those things would lead to anything good (though that is an interesting idea for a Minnie story, so I'll have to keep that in mind).

And I agree, at some point Manny and Daniela should meet with Danny, the man who once could have been their father.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

Lantern lifted his arm upwards, pointing it along the path that Junior and Daniela were travelling through the sky. Clenching his hand into a fist, his forearm opened up pull out the missile launcher hidden inside. His built-in targeting computer locked onto the two and the robot was ready to fire.

That is until he heard the annoying ringing inside his head, causing him to give an irritated sigh. Someone was calling him and he had a feeling he knew who it was.

Lantern retracted his weapon and opened up the compartment in his other arm, typing in the proper commands to allow the caller's hologram to appear before him.

It was the black hooded figure of Morg, whom stood in silence as he scowled angrily at the robot.

Lantern deliberately waited a full minute before saying anything. "…You seem mad." He said innocently.

Morg continued to glare at him before he finally spoke. "You know, I'm aware that none in our little group are that used to working with others. I myself used to have an army of enslaved zombies, that existed solely to do my bidding, so I can admit even I needed a bit of an adjustment period before I was really on board with this whole thing. But when we formed this alliance with each other, we all did so under the understanding that every bit of help that we gave to each other would help bring us all closer to our mutual goals. And I don't think that I should have to tell you that one of those bits of help should have included giving us a heads up that GRIM FUCKING JUNIOR WAS IN THE AREA OF ONE OF OUR BIG PLANS!"

"I thought you could handle it." Lantern said with a shrug.

"NO!"

"Huh. Well then, I guess Boogie should have let me take care of them when I offered to." Lantern replied uncaringly. "Hindsight's a bitch, isn't it?"

"Is that what this is about?" Morg yelled at the machine. "You're angry about how long the plan is taking so you decide to delay it even further?!"

"It's not my fault that yours and Drax's little experiment wasn't up to snuff." Lantern pointed out. "And besides, I doubt delaying the plan any more is even a feasible option now."

"What do you mean?" Morg asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mandy's already on the lookout for the ones who broke into her vault and now her kids are on their way home to her to confirm her suspicions that something big is coming." Lantern explained. "They know about you. They know about Boogie. And because the big guy had to come in and save your ass, they might even know about him too." He reminded the alien Reaper. "Once they get to her, Mandy will start preparing for us immediately, and then all your little "plans" will go straight down the crapper. …Unless of course we attack before they ever get the chance."

Morg's face twisted in almost blinding rage. "You…damn…stupid…idiot HUMAN!" He cursed through the hologram. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

"It's called an ultimatum. You're a villain, you should have a fairly good understanding of the concept." Lantern said.

Through the hologram Lantern could almost see Morg's hand shaking in anger. "Get back to base! Now!" Morg ordered.

"They're getting away." Lantern commented, partially ignoring the Martian as he looked up towards Junior and Daniela, whom were almost out of the city.

"Lantern! That is an order!" Morg yelled.

"Right, right. But first I think I'll take care of some business on the way there." Lantern muttered, his targeting computer reacquiring its previous targets.

"Lantern! Don't you dare-!" But it was too late, as Lantern had pressed one of the buttons on his arm to abruptly cut off the communication.

"Boring talk anyway." Lantern quipped to himself as he closed the compartment. He then reactivated his launcher weapon, sending five missiles blasting off from his arm at Junior and Daniela.

The weapons soared high above the skyline as they raced to meet up with the two. Daniela was the first to hear their approach, having fallen slightly behind Junior as she was not as fast as her older brother.

"Junior!" She called out in warning as soon as she turned her head and saw them. Turning at her word, Junior saw the three missiles and immediately dove at Daniela to push her out of the way as the weapons rocketed past the siblings.

However, as soon as the three missiles gained some distance on them they then suddenly turned in midair and headed right back for the two.

"Tracers, eh?" Junior commented, seeming unsurprised. From his hand he grew out three long green metal knives, which he proceeded to throw like kunai at the missiles. Upon contact with the knives the weapons exploded.

The assault was not finished, however, as when the two looked back down at the city to see where the missiles had come from they saw three more headed their way. Junior repeated his knife throw a second time and again the threat was neutralized. This time no more missiles followed after and Junior had a feeling that the attacks had only been meant to get their attention.

Using his eyes to follow the smoke trail left behind by the missiles, Junior spotted the large orange form of Lantern down in the city below.

"Daniela, stay here." He said to her as he pulled out Dragonslayer. "I'll be right back."

"Brother, are you sure that is-"

Junior then dove straight down at the city.

"-wise." She finished before giving a sigh. "Perhaps Manny's head-first idiocy is not just restricted to him. Perhaps it is something all the males in our family share."

Junior used his wings to help kick up more speed for him as he fell miles downwards to the city's surface. He then folded them back into himself to keep them from picking up any more resistance as he held his sword in a striking position above his head.

Junior brought the sword crashing down hard when he reached Lantern, whom simply caught the massive blade in his hands, though the impact of their collision had created several cracks and a small crater where the robot stood.

"Hey." Lantern casually greeted the Reaper as the two now met face-to-face.

"Uh…hi?" Junior awkwardly greeted back, having not expected those sort of first words.

He then found himself punched through a building and several cars before he ended up on the edge of a street about a block away from where he started.

Junior held his head with both hands, the unexpected blow having left him a bit woozy. Thankfully he regained his senses just in time to dodge out of the way before the thrown-back Dragonslayer nearly took his arm off.

From the other side of the street Lantern exited from the multiple holes Junior had made through the building. "According to Drax's files, a nimble fighter like the samurai would be the biggest weakness for someone like you." He said to the Reaper. "But even then they couldn't last forever, given your stamina and propensity for big wide attacks when you go all out. So we decided to prioritize other things." Lantern punched his fist into his hand. "I think you'll find me to be an opponent more your speed."

"Well someone's confident." Junior remarked as he picked back up his weapon. He spun Dragonslayer around in his hands for a minute before running at the robot. Lantern, in turn, charged forward to meet him.

The two clashed in the center of the street, Junior's massive blade striking hard against the robot's arm as he blocked the attack. The blow didn't even make a dent in Lantern's metallic hide, though with the weapon's weight, along Junior own strength, the impact hit with nearly twice the force of a cannonball, pushing even the robot's hulking form slightly to the side.

The frowning jack-o-lantern like face that covered the majority of the robot's chest lit up to a brighter stage before a powerful torrent of flames erupted from within. Junior was quick to dodge the sudden burst attack, though it left him open for Lantern to grab him by the leg and smack him into the ground. He then proceeded to crack Junior into the ground back and forth, on both sides of his body, much in the same manner that Chi had done to Jack earlier that same day.

After a few seconds of treated Junior like a sock monkey, Lantern lifted Junior up by his leg, holding him upside down to his cylindrical grey head.

"Aw. Don't tell me you're beaten already." The orange coated menace mocked.

Junior then hit him with a single blast of green ecto-energy from his mouth. The sudden attack caused Lantern to take a step back but when the smoke from the impact cleared it revealed the robot's face to be unharmed, just slightly annoyed.

Lantern threw Junior back into the street, letting go of his leg only so that he could grab onto the back of the Reaper's head, punching his face into the ground as he did so. On the robot's backside compartments opened up to unveil rocket thrusters and from the bottoms of the robot's wide feet popped out, of all things, roller blades. The thrusters lit aflame and propelled the machine forward at several miles per hours as he violently dragged Junior's across the entirety of the street, the Reaper's body tearing through the concrete as they went.

They sped along for several blocks before finally the street came to an end at a three-way intersection and a tall skyscraper. Instead of letting the building slow them down, Lantern opted instead to slam Junior into it before using their speed to start traveling vertically up the side of the building, using Junior's face to carve their taken path through the metal sidings and glass windows. Moments later they went sailing off the top of the large structure, propelled skywards by their velocity. Once they'd reached up high enough, Lantern threw his aim back, winding up for the pitch, before throwing Junior straight down through the center of the building's roof.

Junior crashed through floor after floor, his repeated impacts shattering the windows on each floor outwards as he went down. He eventually made it to the bottom. Seconds later and Lantern came crashing back down too, though to the outside of the building.

"Come on out, Reaper." Lantern called to Junior through the walls of the crumbling structure. "I know that wasn't enough to kill you. I have records of your many fights with Dan Phantom. I know the two of you have been through a lot worse punishment than this. Or did your battle with the samurai really drain you that badly?"

" _Yeah…but not in the way you're probably thinking…"_ Junior thought as he laid buried under several tons of rubble inside the building. Along with several broken bones and his excessive bleeding, half of Junior's head was missing, having been scraped away by the past few minutes with Lantern. And yet even with all these other injuries, the only thing that Junior could feel right now was a slight burning sensation around the areas where Jack's sword had cut through his eye and chest. He'd been feeling it ever since the wounds first healed, though thankfully overtime it seemed to be steadily going away. _"That sword…along with everything else…it made it difficult to keep myself under control."_ Junior thought for a moment about his options. _"Hm…Aku's palace is quite some ways behind us now…which means…"_ Junior's eye glowed a brighter green in determination. _"…I can let myself cut a bit loose!"_

The front of the building exploded outwards into the street, the rubble bouncing off the robotic villain, whom did not bother to move. From the hole created emerged Junior, his head having fully regrown and both of his green eyes glowing brightly as they stared at Lantern, his green knuckles cracking as he walked.

"You ready to see what a Demon Reaper can really do?" Junior asked, his stare at a constant.

"I know what a Demon Reaper can do." Lantern retorted. "What I'm excited about…is that I finally get to kill one."

Junior stayed quiet for a moment before he held both his arms to one side. A ball of green ecto-energy formed between his two palms as he charged it with power.

"Ohh! Is that a Kamehameha you're charging there?" Lantern asked in a slightly mocking tone. "Are you hoping to turn this into a beam struggle? Because if you are…" The robot held up his arms and in the center of his wide palms opened two circular energy ports which started to glow bright with power. "…then I'm all for it."

The stood off, each with energy crackling around them as they were ready to fire off their blasts of unbelievable power.

Unfortunately for Lantern, it'd never been Junior's plan to do so.

A split second before he'd been about to fire, a black tentacle burst forth from the ground directly behind him. "What the-?!" He cried out as the appendage wrapped itself around his head and pulled him backwards. His body tilted over and when his beam did fire it went off in a diagonal direction towards the sky, nowhere even close to its target.

As soon as his opponent hit the ground, Junior leapt up, his fist now glowing green as it held within it the energy he'd been gathering. With one solid punch Junior smashed Lantern further into the ground, the impact briefly causing the entire city to shake.

The tentacle that'd grabbed the robot had been something like a tail for Junior, having sprouted from his backside underneath his coat and had travelled underground when he was more focused on Junior's supposed energy attack. Lantern only realized all this now because Junior was sprouting several similar appendages from his body. Not aimed at him but rather all shooting outwards to spear the sides of two buildings on both sides of the street.

And by Junior's command, the appendages pulled the two buildings down, right on top of the robot as he leapt out of the way.

The sounds of scraping metal and falling brick and mortar were the only things that could be heard throughout the city as the buildings came continuously crashing down. A large cloud of dust covered the area once they'd finally ceased and Junior simply stood at the edge of it all.

"I believe this is the part where I say: Aw. Don't tell me you're beaten already." Junior mocked, repeating Lantern's words from earlier.

The pile of rubble then started to shake before a large solid section, about the size of an airplane, of it was then lifted far off the ground.

"Hey, Reaper!" Lantern called out as he held the large section of building bits above his head. "Catch!" He yelled before he threw the mound straight at Junior.

Junior thought fast. He knew it was too big for him to dodge out of the way, so he opted instead to take it head on. Spawning two scythes from both of his hands, Junior leapt up at the flying mound of concrete and metal, his weapons cutting through it like butter.

The bottom of Lantern's feet opened up to reveal small booster rockets, similar to those that'd previously opened up from his back. These rockets activated and jumped the large robot up to meet the Reaper.

Junior's slashed both scythes at Lantern but they both shattered upon impact with his metallic hide, leaving him open for the robot's fist to connect with his face, sending Junior back down to the ground. He was down for only a second before quickly rolling out of the way as Lantern came crashing back down.

"I love this power!" The robot couldn't help yell out in his excited state as he and Junior yet again faced off. "If I'd know how great upper body strength could be, I might have worked out more back when I was still human."

"Human?" Junior asked in confusion. "You mean to tell me that you weren't always a giant mechanical pumpkin? Or that that stupid look is intentional?"

"Yeah, yeah, yuk it up, Reaper." Lantern said in a dismissive tone. "The Pumpkinator wasn't exactly my first choice for machines to get fused with, but Drax insisted that its previous experience fighting you could give us some valuable data. So he ignored what I had to say and went along with it anyway. Drax made me into what you might call a cyborg."

"Boy, Drax this, Drax that. You mind actually filling me in more on this guy who apparently wants me dead?" Junior said.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Lantern stated as he charged at the Reaper.

"Yeah…that's why I asked." Junior sighed as he dodged the robot's repeated swipes at him. "I actually have a lot of things at the moment I'd like to know from you. One question actually near the top of the list is…" Junior said as he caught Lantern's arms as they tried to come smashing down on him. "…Since you're not actually the Pumpkinator magically come back to life to seek vengeance, what is your beef with me then?"

"Well…truth be told I don't really have one." Lantern explained as his chest mouth lit up again, Junior letting go of the robot's arms just in time to leap out of the ay of the volcanic hot fire. "The ones I want revenge on are your mother and father for what they did to me."

"…And you thought the easiest way to do would be to come after me?" Junior asked with a raised eyebrow, questioning the logic of that decision.

"Easier? No." Lantern said as he reactivated the missile launcher in his arm, sending several of the projectiles Junior's way. Pressing his foot into the ground, Junior's flesh sprang up several large scythe blades from the street to take the impacts of the missiles, before sending them cutting through the street at Lantern. The robot simply charged his way through them, his body shattering the metal blades as he run at Junior before tackling him hard with his shoulder and sending the Reaper tumbling back. "Worth the look of anguish on Grim's face when I bring him the shattered remains of your skull? I'd like to think so."

Lantern's chest face lit up again, aiming at Junior, whom laid before him on the ground. Junior was ready to counterattack but then, to the surprise of both opponents, Lantern suddenly fell through the ground. The strange part about him doing so is that the ground had not broken when he fell through. He simply…just fell through it.

It took Junior a second but he soon realized that the ground underneath where Lantern had stood had been turned intangible. And in turning his own head to the side Junior could see the one responsible: his own sister, Daniela.

"I thought I told you to stay put." Junior said to her as he got back to his feet.

"And I thought mother and father had taught you enough sense not to play in the street." Daniela retorted as she allowed the ground to become solid again.

Junior blinked for a minute. "Did…did you just make a joke?" He then couldn't help but crack a smile. "…I'm proud of you."

The ground where Lantern had stood before then started to glow red with heat before it finally burst open, and from out of the hole Lantern reemerged.

"By the way…" The robot said as its yellow eyes glared at the two. "The reason I went after you, Junior, other than the fact that I'm pretty sure you're Grim's favorite, is that you're by far the most powerful of all your siblings, and it'd be a good idea to get you out of the picture before things got serious. …But that being said…I'm certainly not opposed to taking the rest of the brats down with you!"

Flame erupted from within the machine and Junior quickly grabbed Daniela as he flew them both out of the way. His newly sprouted wings carried them up high, where Junior figured the robot would be less effective at such a long range.

In truth he was at least partially right. Lantern couldn't hit him as easily down on the street below, though the missile launchers that popped out from his shoulders proved that is was a minor setback. A volley of projectiles was launched, Junior weaving and dodging between them with ease, unknowingly allowing himself to be lead where the robot wanted him to be. From Lantern's wrist burst out a long metallic cable which wrapped itself around the Reaper's legs. Getting an idea of what was coming, Junior let go of Daniela and push her away just in time before he felt thousands upon thousands of volts course through his body, lighting him up like a strobe light amongst all the dark red and black buildings of the city.

Daniela rushed at Lantern in an effort to help her brother, blasting down at the cable in an effort to break it. Unfortunately, her attack did nothing to damage it and she soon found the robot charging right at her. She knew she wasn't fast enough to get out of the way in time to avoid the full hit so Daniela turned intangible as she moved to avoid his strike.

And yet she still found the robot's large arm connecting with her gut and knocking her away. Hard.

The sudden pain had caused the ghost girl to turn tangible and she skidded for a bit across the ground after Lantern had sent her flying. Once she stopped she found herself hacking and coughing quite a bit, the impact almost certainly having broken a rib or two.

"H-(cough!)…how?" Daniela asked feebly as the large orange robot walked towards her.

"Fenton Works brand Specter Deflector." Lantern explained. "A bit before your time, but still works well enough that we had to make sure to install it, just in case we had to deal with either Dan or the little whelps he helped spawn."

"Whelps?" Daniela said, not quite getting his meaning. In another minute she might have put it together, but unfortunately, Lantern was enjoying himself too much to give her one.

"You sure can't take a hit like your brother can. And that was just a love tap." He commented. "THIS is when the device is actually effective." He said, gently placing his large hand on her chest.

And the worst pain Daniela had ever felt in her life came surging through her. It felt like her body was weakening with every second this green electricity crashed through her body. It was so horrible that even though her mouth was as wide as it could go she couldn't even let out a scream. Daniela raised her hands up, practically begging for some form of attack to come out of them to make the pain stop. But she could not focus enough to muster up any form of ecto-blast. And though she'd tried repeated since, she could not summon up any of the ice power she'd used before against the alien Reaper. She couldn't even feel any of the cold within her body to indicate that it was even still there, as the robot's mere touch made her feel like her skin was on fire.

Then, from out of the ground behind him, several large black tentacles came forth and wrapped themselves around Lantern, covering his entire frame and pulling him away from Daniela. The appendages couldn't hold the powerful machine for very long and in truth they didn't try to, instead pulling themselves back before whipping him skyward. Lantern crashed through a building or two as he was sent flying across the city.

The tentacles returned to their source, whom was Junior, having cut the cable binding him while Lantern was busy torturing Daniela. Junior quickly rushed over to his sister, helping her get up as he cradled her in his arms. To her credit, she did her best to not show her pain.

"Lord Aku is not going to be happy to see what's being done to his city." The ghost girl said weakly, trying to put on a tougher face.

"Yeah, well, I just remembered I forgot about the money we earned from bringing in the Scotsman, so it's not like he'll be strapped for cash for the repairs." Junior said, going along with it, not wanting to his sister to feel any worse about herself than she clearly already did. "Were you just trying to use those ice powers you told me about?"

Daniela nodded her head. "I've been trying to get them to work ever since we left the palace but I can't even feel the cold anymore."

"Probably wouldn't have done any good anyway." Junior remarked.

"Nothing ever seems to be…" Daniela muttered sadly.

"That's not what I meant." Junior said strongly. "From the way pumpkin boy's been talking, he's been built to tank his way through my toughest blows. Fighting him like I would isn't going to work. What we need…" He then looked at Daniela, as an idea came to his head. "…is to fight him more like you."

Daniela blinked for a moment at her brother. "Wh…what?"

The two then started to hear the unmistakable and quickly increasing sound of buildings being toppled over, no doubt their enemy now charging his way directly towards them.

"Daniela, listen to me." Junior said to her, the firmness in his voice make it clear how much she needed to pay attention. "I've been around and fought enough ghosts to know how to mimic some of their abilities. Things like ecto-blasts and invisibility are pretty easy, as they're just a small step up from things I can already do. But the power I have the most difficulty with is intangibility. Makes sense in a way. Ghosts in general can't phase through Reapers, part of that "No one escapes Death" thing, so it's understandable why I can't do it."

"Brother, what good can intangibility do against this…this thing?!" Daniela asked, starting to panic as the noise created by Lantern's charge was getting closer.

"One thing I can do, however, is take plenty of punishment. Way more than any ghost can, and that includes Dan." Junior continued. "And I'll bet certainly more than that Specter Deflector can dish out."

Daniela soon caught on to what her brother's plan was, though still retained a fair bit of doubt over it. "Brother...I…I don't think I can this…" She tried to say. "Manny and I…we've tried to phase through father before and it never worked. Even with you helping me…I just…I don't think I'm powerful enough to-"

"Hey." She stopped as soon as Junior placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You can do this." He assured her. "I don't have any doubt about that."

Daniela wanted to argue with him. She wanted to say that he was wrong and that she wasn't strong enough and wasn't ever going to be strong enough. That all she'd done ever since she left with him was hold him back and get in the way.

But there was just something about the way he said all that to her. And the way he looked at her when he did so. He truly believed in her, even after all the times he'd had to save her. Now he was counting on her to help him win, and right now, more than anything else, she wanted to prove that he was right to do so.

"I'll…I'll try." She said, taking in some air.

This brought a smile to Junior's face and he held out his hand for her to take. With some momentary reluctance, she did so, and both stood facing the building Lantern would soon come bursting out of.

Through her fingers Daniela felt a familiar tingle as Junior's body did what it could to go intangible. Her hand fell a bit through the Nergalized flesh of his hand until she touched bone, which was as solid as ever. She grasped at this inner hand and turned intangible herself, spreading her power out to him.

In truth it did not hurt. It was more the strain on her abilities that started to quickly wear on her. Strain that was about to be made even worse as Lantern came crashing through the building, tearing his way through the metal and stone like an unstoppable juggernaut as he charged at them.

Junior didn't even hesitate, his arm punching itself out to meet the metallic goliath.

The moment Junior made contact with Lantern's outer shell sparks began to fly violently. The robot's systems fought back as hard as it could as Junior tried to force his way through. His intangible hand pressed hard against the armor, not able to yet breach any further, while the same green electricity that'd tormented his sister just moments ago blasted its way through his body. He fared better than she did, though that didn't make it any less painful, as evidenced by his skin starting to boil and blister.

Daniela grasped onto Junior with her other hand as well, focusing herself as much as she could to keep his intangibility going. After everything she'd been through during that day Daniela had little stamina left to spare and she felt it quickly slipping away, not helped by the fact that she was now starting to feel the same pain as Junior, as the Deflector's defenses started to spread to her as well through him. But still, her grip remained strong. This time, she refused to falter. This time, she refused to let Junior down again.

It was another second or two more, but Junior's hand finally started to progress forwards into the robot's body, Lantern's protections barely slowing him down now.

"What…?! What are you doing?!" Lantern yelled as he felt the cold hand reaching into his chest.

"Seeing how tough you are on the inside!" Junior answered determinately as his Nergal flesh spread out as much as it could within the robot and latched onto whatever it could find before tearing it apart. "Feeling a lot of hydraulic tubes. Those are gone. Feeling, unsurprisingly, a lot of chips and other computer stuff I don't understand. Those are gone. But the one thing I'm really hoping to get my hands on is…" Junior then found his hand take hold of a soft and pulsating object inside the robot's chest. "Ahhh…there you are!"

And with one hand Junior crushed Lantern's heart.

It took a moment before Lantern's mind got over the sudden shock of the sensation. "You…! Little…! Braaaaaaaaaaaaa…" Was all the robot could utter before the flames within his chest went out and his body shut down with them, bringing the large figure crashing down on his knees.

The pain from the Specter Deflector ended and Junior was able to pull his hand free with no trouble, finally allowing Daniela to stop using her powers and turn him solid again. She too fell to her knees with a sigh of exhaustion and relief that it was finally over.

"Next time, don't tell the guy you're trying to kill that you're a cyborg." Junior said to the lifeless husk of Lantern as he nursed his now very sore hand. "Gives them a pretty good idea of what your weak points are." Once he was done he turned to Daniela, smiling softly. "You did good, Daniela."

Daniela gave a tired smile back, gratefully accepting and thanking him for the praise. Her gaze then shifted slightly until she noticed something that made her eyes widen considerably. "Oh my god, brother! Your arm!" She said in horror.

The arm that'd reached into Lantern's body had become severely blackened and burned by the Specter Deflector, not to mention whatever energy it was that had been constantly generated within Lantern's chest. With how cracked and crusty it was it looked more like a large slab of jerky that an arm.

Junior however didn't seem that bothered by it. "I've had worse." He shrugged as he wiggled his darkened fingers to test if they could still move. "Should heal up on its own in an hour or two. Less if I just tear the whole thing off and just grow a new one. Beats the alternative, which I imagine would have been Robo-Squash here doing this to my entire body."

"What are we going to do with him?" Daniela asked as she looked at the robot's remains.

"Well, since I doubt it's a coincidence that Lantern finally picked a fight with me right after we left Aku's palace, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that he and this Drax guy are some of the Boogieman's allies that Jack warned us about." Junior figured. "So I imagine if we take pumpkin boy here back to the castle, the boy's in mom's lab can probably gain some useful information by studying him."

Junior's wings spread out from his back once more, as did several tentacles from his front which wrapped around the robot's body. He wasn't going to ask Daniela to help in carrying him, figuring she'd pushed herself enough for one day and could use some rest. It was then that Junior noticed a glow starting to form from Lantern's body.

It was a second later that a powerful blast of energy erupted from the robot's jack-o-lantern face, tearing through the tentacles binding him with ease and hitting Junior with enough force to knock him across the street and into a high wall before falling back to the ground.

"Junior!" Daniela screamed before she found another cable from the robot's other wrist wrap itself around her body.

"Did you really think destroying my heart would be enough to stop me?!" Lantern almost laughed as he got up, his inner flames burning fiercely as he was now back online. "Your daddy took away a far more important organ from me than that and it wasn't enough to kill me!"

Power surged through the cable and Daniela light up the entire city block, her screams traveling even further.

"Daniela!" Junior screamed as he threw a large scythe blade from his body to cut the line.

The electricity stopped its flow and Daniela instantly collapsed to the ground. A white circle appeared around her waist and split in two as they travelled across her body, reverting her back to her human form.

The moment Junior could see her breathing was the moment his eyes instantly turned red.

" **I'M GOING TO BREAK YOU IN HALF!"** Junior roared at the robot, his voice now sounding far more demonic than before in his rage.

"Really?" Lantern mocked. "Because after the past few minutes, I find that hard to beli-!"

One punch from Junior smashed the large robot into the ground. The Reaper's knuckles bled green as he savagely began to beat his fists against Lantern's head. It wasn't enough to break through the metal but Lantern could tell he was hitting with a lot more power than before and knew better than to let it go on.

The jack-o-lantern face lit up and Lantern blasted the Reaper again. That should have been the end of it, as nothing could possibly survive being continuously bombarded at such close range by the volcanic energy. And yet even through the flames that tried their damnedest to incinerate him, Junior's rage could still be seen as his body held together. His hand pushed their way through the stream of energy and latched onto the robot's chest, giving him the leverage he needed to pick Lantern up over his head and chuck him into another nearby building.

As soon as the robot came sailing in through the wall Lantern found himself inside a very packed nightclub, him crashing through tables as he slid across the floor. The music that blasted from the overhead speakers temporally cut out before resuming its continuous beats. All the patrons within the club, be they alien, demon, or one of the Go-go dancers on display in the various containers all around the area, stopped what they were doing and took notice of the mechanic man who was a strange sight even among these parts. They then took notice to the red-eyed Demon Reaper who walked in through the hole Lantern had made in the wall, his glowing green teeth made visible as he gave an almost animalistic snarl.

Lantern got back to his feet and the club's patron's all pulled out their respective weapons, ready to throw down with either of the two men who'd dared to disturb their evening.

Junior was the one who made the first, and in some ways the last, move, as he opened his mouth up wide to unleash the Ghostly Wail, one of the many ghost techniques he'd picked up from Dan over the years. The highly destructive waves of ecto-energy shook the entire building to its foundation and cut through all the club patrons unfortunate enough to be caught in its wide path, killing them instantly.

Spikes emerged from Lantern's feet, bolting him to the floor so he would not be sent flying back as he tanked his way through the onslaught. He raised both arms up, popping his missile launchers out of both forearms before unleashing everything he had out on the Reaper. The wail cut off when the first of them struck and then more and more of the Reaper's body started to get blasted away as each missile exploded on contact.

And yet that still wasn't enough to stop him, as every bit that was blown away from Junior simply regrew itself as the raging Demon Reaper proceeded to charge his way through the volley of missiles, seeming to feel not a single bit of pain from any of them.

It was the moment that Junior's fists struck against Lantern once again that all those whom remained in the club realized that they were severely outclassed. They all bolted for whatever exits they could find, all fleeing before they'd find themselves caught in the middle of these two monsters.

The fight continued on for several minutes, with fists of spikes and bone clashing against fists of metal, neither man allowing themselves to give an inch. At one-point Lantern's chest lit up to fire his signature attack while Junior's maw opened up to perform the Ghostly Wail. The two attacks crashed into each other and resulting explosion was enough to send them both flying to opposite ends of the club.

It was Junior who was the first to get back to his feet and rush back at his opponent. But as soon as he was halfway there, Junior's vison started to blur and he suddenly became very dizzy, nearly tripping over his own two feet before he finally had to stop running.

" **Wha…wha…what is…happening…?"** He stammered, barely able to focus as the world spun around him.

"Finally." Lantern said as he got back to his feet. "It's about time it took effect."

" **What…what did you do to me?!"** Junior demanded to know as his legs could barely keep him standing.

Lantern just laughed as he calmly made his way towards the Reaper. "After all the intel we've gathered on you, did you really think our best idea of how to kill you would just be a couple of missiles and some energy blasts?" He mocked before striking Junior across the face with his fist, knocking his defenseless opponent to the ground. "Hell, I just unloaded an entire arsenal on you and you proved it couldn't stop you." Lantern punched down on Junior's skull again, knocking blood from his mouth out across the floor. "But all that fire and smoke and explosions? It was a pretty distraction, keeping you from noticing what else was in those missiles. A gas. Something all my little friends whipped up for when I'd finally get a crack at you."

Lantern cracked his fist against Junior's face again. Junior couched and hacked up blood as his throat tried to get clear enough for him to speak. **"I'm…I'm immune to gases…"** He coughed.

"You Reapers might be immune to gases, as you tend not to have any lungs or muscles or anything like that for gas to effect." Lantern pointed out sadistically. "That's why we didn't make the gas to target them. We made it to effect Nergals. You know, the species that makes up a good chunk of your body, Demon Reaper."

Lantern stomped his foot down on Junior's chest, cracking his ribs before the same spikes that'd held him to the floor earlier came forth and impaled the Reaper, causing Junior to let out a cry of pain.

"I forget what the full list of side-effects are." Lantern continued as he dug his foot further into Junior, enjoying watching him squirm. "I believe the list goes: nausea, dizziness, vomiting, muscle paralysis, loss of muscle control, and all followed by intense pain. Through I think that last one is just because of me." Lantern could feel the snapping of Junior's chest beneath his heel, but the Reaper only grimaced at the pain, refusing to scream again and give Lantern the satisfaction. "I'll give you credit though, kid. You're holding up to this a lot better than that godfather of yours did."

" **Uncle Nergal…?"** Junior asked, some focus coming back at the mention of his old idol.

"Who do you think we tested the gas on?" Lantern asked. "Imagine his surprise that when hunting down the bits of a cursed tricycle he finds me waiting for him."

Junior hands grasped onto the robot's foot, trying as hard as he could to get it off. **"What did you do to my uncle?!"** He yelled, trying desperately to muster up any of the strength the gas was taking from him.

"Oh? You're struggling again? Good. Because that's all you can do against someone like me." Lantern remarked as he held up his arms towards Junior's face, opening up two circular energy ports in the center of his palms.

His inner energy blasted outwards from his hands and he finally got Junior to scream.

"If you knew a thing about me, you'd know why I, out of all the others in my organization, was the one to get all this power!" Lantern yelled over the screams as he continued to fry Junior. "It's because I was the only one who could survive such a radical transformation! Because out of all of them, I'm the only one who can never die, in thanks to your dear old daddy!"

When Junior stopped screaming Lantern ended his assault, the energy blasts cutting off to reveal the completely blackened and deep-fried Demon Reaper beneath his foot.

"And I'll make sure to thank him in person as well, and show him what my power can really do." Lantern finished, victorious over his foe.

But that was when the building started to shake again. At first the robot couldn't tell where it was coming from. That is, until new flesh burst through Junior's fried outer shell and spread out all across the room.

From one end of the club to the other, Junior's flesh spread out as an endless mass of tentacles and glowing red eyes, so wide and thrashing that it did not resemble anything remotely humanoid. His form blocked every single bit of light in the dimly lit establishment until all was a dark void, with Lantern's own fire and hundreds of eyes watching him to give him light.

From out of the blackness something came forth and wrapped around his arms, pulling them straight to their respective sides. Lantern tried to free himself by blasting whatever it was that held him, but his attacks merely lit up the blackness for a moment, revealing the constantly wriggling walls of flesh, before it went dark once again.

Before the robot's face a glint of light appeared before two large rows of sharp green teeth emerged from the darkness, each nearly as large as the robot himself.

" **YOU THINK YOU KNOW POWER?!"** The demonic voice of Junior boomed from all around him. Lantern's arms were then jutted forward, as he found himself being pulled towards the monster's mouth. Lantern tried bolting himself to the floor again as he struggled against the pull, but he just scraped across the floor, the spikes cutting through the ground as they could only just barely slow his approach.

As he drew in closer and closer, Lantern began to hear screams. Not from Junior but rather from inside of him. Thousands of them, each distinctive voice crying out, begging for something different. Begging for help. Begging for release. And others…they demanded that he join with them, so that they may have someone else to beg with them.

These were all the souls that the Demon Reaper had consumed throughout his afterlife.

From out of the monster's mouth they came out, crawling along whatever bit of the Reaper's flesh it was that was pulling the robot. The specters were humanoid in shape but just barely. They were grey, blob-like, and translucent figures, with no other distinct features than the permanent and horrifying moans on their faces.

They crawled along like crippled beggars across the black flesh until they reached Lantern and started to try and pull him into the mouth with them, all while their continuous wails and moans echoed throughout the chamber until they were all he could hear.

"No…! NO!" Lantern started to scream in fear as the numerous souls started to consume him with their forms. "Get away! Get away!"

Lantern's jack-o-lantern face started blasting its way through whatever soul came near him, but it seemed to do him little good. Each shot seemed to just scatter the specter to the winds until it reformed somewhere else, with several more moving in to take its previous space.

The spirits continued to swarm him, each moaning its sickly moan in his face as they pulled him closer and closer to the green teeth and the endless abyss behind them that was to be his prison as well as theirs.

"NO! GET AWAY! GET AWAAAAY!" Lantern screamed as the jack-o-lantern face glowed to the brightest it'd ever been, lighting up the entirety of the chamber.

What followed was an energy blast so massive and powerful it burst straight through the top of the flesh covered dungeon and up several floors before it took out the skyscraper's roof.

It was this, followed by the sound of the building collapsing in on itself, that finally reawakened Daniela.

"What…? ...!" The teenager's eyes went wide as she saw a massive cloud of dust and rubble heading her way.

After the cloud had passed over her and finally settled, Daniela emerged from it, having switched back to her ghost form just before the cloud rolled over her.

Her body was in bad condition. Every muscle was stiff and seemed to scream with agony. Her cracked ribs created pain with every moment forward she made. She couldn't even muster up enough energy to fly, causing her limp forward towards the large mound of stone and metal that was the building's remains.

"Junior? J-Junior?" She called out weakly as she held one of her arms around her chest, trying to steady herself and ease the pain. She walked as far as she could until she collapsed onto her knees next to the edge of the rubble.

She rose her hands up, trying to phase through the wreckage, but she simply could not. Her body was too hurt and exhausted to do any more and it was taking everything she had just to stay in her ghost form without blacking out. So instead Daniela did what she could, strenuously lifting and pushing rocks out of the way as she tried to dig her way in.

"I'll…get you out of this, brother…" Daniela coughed as she struggled to even move some of the first bits. "I'll get you out and then…and then we can…we can go…" Daniela's eyelids started to droop as she nearly collapsed once more. The only thing that kept that from happening was the sudden jolt she got as something burst up from out of the wreckage.

Never had one been so terrified to see the color orange. For it was not Junior that emerged, but Lantern. Covered in soot and greatly shaken up, but alive.

"I…didn't know the output could go that high…" He stammered, with even through his robotic and echoing voice it sounded like he was amazed he was still alive and trying to calm himself down. Were his heart still around he'd surely feel its rapid beats throughout his body.

"What…what did you do to my brother?!" Daniela yelled, causing the robot to finally take notice of her again, having been so wrapped up in what'd happened.

"A better question would be, what am I going to do to you?" Lantern said, trying to get the menace back in his voice after such an ordeal, raising his palm to her.

Tears started to stream down the girl's face, so scared she didn't know what to do. Her body was so injured it could barely move, let alone fight. And Junior…Junior wasn't there to protect her anymore.

The only thing she could think of to do…was run.

Daniela stumbled to her feet as she turned and ran as fast as her tired legs could carry her. Her body lifted just slightly off the ground as she tried to fly, though soon found herself face first back in the dirt. Still, that did not stop her, as adrenaline and fear pushed her body further past her limits. After a few more times of brushing against the ground, Daniela finally was able to get fully away from the ground and start flying away.

Lantern's aim was locked on. He could have taken her out with one shot.

That is, if he could get anything to fire.

"Shit." The robot sighed as his arm made a whirring noise that indicated failure. "Used too much energy at once. Needs time to recharge before I can use it again, and I'm not exactly built for speed. …Hmm…" By his command, two circular disks popped off his shoulders, both sprouting six sharp little legs that made them look like large metal bugs as they floated beside him. "Get her." He ordered and the two disks went flying off after their target.

Taking a moment to recompose himself mentally after the shock of what Junior had almost done to him, Lantern reopened the compartment in his arm, punching in the code to contact someone new.

The hologram that appeared before him was of someone of much shorter size than either of Boogie or Morg, though she still wore a long black hooded robe, the shadow of which helped to hide her face.

"Hey, Dora, you know that thing we were told not to do unless we were given very specific orders?" Lantern asked. "Well I just vaporized that thing to dust and dropped a building on it. So yeah, I'm having a pretty good day."

"A day that's going to be worsened when the others find out you disobeyed them." She pointed out, her voice a bit horse but still distinctly that of a young girl.

"Oh, they already know." He informed her. "But there's nothing they can do about it. They care too much about their precious plan to risk outing themselves by trying to stop me. Which means I'm free to do what's next, and I'm hoping you will want to join me."

"Let me guess…" Dora said evenly. "You called me up of all people because I'm the newest member to your little club and are hoping that I don't have the same loyalty to it as the others because of that, right?"

"Am I wrong?" Lantern asked. "I may have taken out Junior but I'm not foolish enough to think my new form is enough to take on Mandy's forces all by myself. You have more than enough power to make up for what I lack. But most importantly of all…I recall you saying you didn't want to wait either. Not after how the bitch betrayed you."

The girl stared at Lantern for a moment, before a smile cracked across her face and she started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Lantern asked.

"Nothing, nothing." Dora said as she fought slightly to control her laughter. "It's just…you know that old saying about how great minds think alike?"

Dora changed the focus of her hologram, showing to Lantern that, far off in the distance, was Castle Grimskull.

Lantern's yellow eyes went wide and if his cylindrical head had a mouth, his smirk would have stretched out across half his face.

"Go ahead and get started without me." He told her with dark happiness. "I'll be there as soon as I can." He said, ending the transmission.

* * *

Daniela flew tiredly through the sky, just barely avoiding the laser fire of the two disks Lantern had sent after her. Had she been functioning at full capacity, she would have gone straight to Aku's palace to get help. But with both her mind and body so exhausted, Daniela's only thoughts had been to get away and get home, thus she'd just passed the outskirts of Aku City moments ago, with the two machine bits still hot on her trail.

Her speed was nowhere as great as it'd been when she was flying with Junior before and it wasn't long until she started losing altitude, her body and powers just not able to keep going anymore.

Moments later and Daniela was falling headfirst through the sky, her eyes almost completely and apathetically closed.

Though she could not see it, the disks chased down after her, the simple-minded machines not stopping until their assigned task was completely finished.

But long before she would have hit the ground, Daniela felt herself come to a sudden yet soft stop, followed soon after by the noise of the two machines exploding.

With a good bit of effort, Daniela opened her eyes to see the flying man in the sky who'd saved her.

"Well now…" Dan remarked with a smile. "Don't you look like you've seen some shit?"

* * *

"This bites." Manny pouted as he leaned against the window ledge, arms crossed in front of his face.

"Mm hmm..." Grim said with disinterest, not really paying much attention to his youngest son as he sat in a nearby armchair, reading from the latest issue of Underworld Home and Gardens.

"Doesn't it bother you? They been gone for days!" Manny said as he turned to the Reaper.

"Junior said he'd bring her back as soon as he could." Grim said calmly. "I'm sure everything's fine."

"Of course things are fine! That's not what I'm mad about!" Manny exclaimed. "Daniela's probably off with Junior right now on some super epic adventure, while I'm suck here, not being allowed to even go outside!"

"If it makes you feel better, your grounding is going to end a lot sooner than hers will after running away like dat." Grim commented.

"Surprisingly, no, it doesn't." Manny frowned as he turned back to the window, having nothing else to do to occupy his time. His green eyes drifted lazily across the landscape, looking at nothing in particular, went he then suddenly spotted something. "Hey, dad…other than Daniela, we weren't expecting anyone else, right?"

Grim finally looked up from his magazine. "No…why?" He asked cautiously.

"Because there's someone out there." Manny said, pointing out the window.

Grim got up out of his chair and walked over to the teen. Following where Manny's finger pointed, Grim spotted what he had. Off in the distance, on one of the mountains closest to the castle, was a short figure in a hooded black cloak, just standing on the rocks staring at the home.

Not taking his eyes away from this new arrival, Grim pressed the intercom button on the nearby wall. "Charles?"

"We see it, master." Lord Pain answered on the other end from the security room. "The queen has already been informed and wishes to see the trespasser for herself before we strike them down."

"Very good." Grim said, guessing his wife had had the same idea as him, that after the break-in the appearance of this stranger wasn't likely a coincidence.

At the same time that Grim ended his end of the call Mandy came walking into the security room, the servants bowing to her as she went immediately to the computers monitoring the stranger. "What do we have?" She asked.

"Nothing unusual showing up on thermal, ultraviolet, or spectral, my queen." One of the skeleton on the camera controls informed her. "In fact, they're so normal that it's actually not normal."

"What do you mean?" Mandy questioned.

"What I mean is, these thermal and body readings we're getting off her, they're not typical for an Underworld being. Readings like these are more of what you'd commonly find in a being from the mortal realm."

Mandy quickly put together what he was saying. "You mean to tell me that this person is human?"

"My queen!" Yelled another of the skeletons on a different monitor, catching the attentions of both her and Lord Pain. "We've detected a cataloged energy signature! It's small but it's coming from the trespasser."

As Mandy looked to see what it was, some of the castle's guards personally approached the stranger, the skeletal knights flying on the backs of winged horses as they surrounded the trespasser. They'd been told to make no moves against them yet and so they did not, but they kept their various swords and maces all trained on their enemy, ready to strike the moment their queen gave the order.

From both the monitors and the window, the Grim family could see the stranger pull something out from their cloak. By the look of it, it was a small metal chest, colored purple and with a skull shaped lock on its front.

"Is that a…lunchbox?" Manny squinted, trying to make it out better, sure he was seeing it wrong.

The eyes of both Grim and Mandy widened the instant they saw it, recognizing it immediately for what it was.

"Take her out! Now!" Mandy yelled, an order which Lord Pain quickly relayed to his troops, his master's urgency quite clear.

The knights on horseback charged down at their quarry, but it was too late. Gripping its handle tight, the stranger opened the box's lid.

From out of the box erupted a pillar of light that stretched to the heavens, changing the Underworld's red sky to a sickly green as cloud spun and circled around the beam's center. The shockwave that occurred with the box's opening knocked the stranger's hood back, revealing her to be a young girl, with short brown hair and freckles, laughing manically as the same shockwave pushed the knights back and sent the horses into a panic, as if they could almost sense what was coming.

From out of the light of the sky beam emerged flying eyeballs and sandwiches with wings that traveled in swarms like locusts. Blood started to rain down from the spiraling clouds above. The weapons of the guards whom had attempted to attack the girl transformed into long strings of sausages that wrapped around them and attempted to strangle their horses. The mountain on which the girl stood sprouted two large eyes as it lifted itself up to walk on its new legs, taking great care not to knock either the girl or the box off its rocky body.

"Hello, Mandy." The girl smiled as she called out to the cameras through the chaos. "Remember me?"

"Pandora." Mandy almost hissed with disdain.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Well there's a character from the original Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy show that I doubt anyone expected to see: Pandora, from the episode  Pandora's Lunch Box. She's basically like the regular Pandora of Greek mythology, only made to look like Dora the explorer. And she and Mandy have some pretty good reasons to hate each other.

So in summation: Lantern's pretty sure he killed Junior. Daniela was almost beaten and tortured to death, only to be save by the man she doesn't know is her father. And the box that contains all the evils of the evils of the world just got opened up on the Grim family's front lawn. In short, no one save for the bad guys seems to be having a good day, and even then that's not entirely true, given that Lantern and Pandora apparently just went rogue because they couldn't wait any longer to take their vengeance.

What does all this mean? Tune in next time on the next chapter of Grim Tales: Complex! A chapter which hopefully won't take several months!

 **QTP:** Who was Lantern before he was turned into a cyborg? What happened to Nergal Jr? How is Pandora now able to open the box on her own? What's going to happen to Daniela now that Dan has her? Why wasn't she able to use her ice powers again? And what happened to Junior?


	10. Out-of-the-Box Vengeance Part 1

**Part 10: Out-of-the-Box Vengeance Part 1**

 **Lord Razer:** Yeah, but in that other story HIM was desperate and dying and wanted to screw everyone over one last time before he left. In this story he has all the time he needs to get what he wants. It's just that what/who he wants I will reveal later in the story when he shows up in a non-flashback (and believe me, does he have a plan).

 **desdelor97:** Thank you. That means a lot, especially since I've been away for so long.

 **nightmaster000:** Well, if the alliance included everyone Grim and Mandy ever ticked off it would be a line that'd go around the entire Underworld. Twice. So yeah, that doesn't really narrow it down, does it? Gives a little bit of surprise for whoever I've picked though, huh?

 **Brandon Storm:**

1.) Probably.

2.) It's a coin-flip there honestly.

3.) Salright.

4.) "Yer gonna eat ectoplasm and crap Ghostly Wails!" (or would it be the other way around)

5.) That's certainly part of it.

6.) Yeah.

 **DPSS:**

1.) Probably. And I'll try to address the soul thing in a later chapter, because that is a good point.

2.) It's a coin-flip there honestly.

3.) Well, in the Grim Adventures show Pandora couldn't open the box on her own. She needed to get someone else to do it for her because of her curse, thus how she ended up tricking and really ticking off Mandy.

4.) I refer you to my previous Rocky joke: "Yer gonna eat ectoplasm and crap Ghostly Wails!"

5.) Definitely the latter.

6.) Small possibilities are still possibilities, though.

 **AMTT94:** Pandora does still hate the Greek Gods, but since the people who brought her back out of the box are going after Grim and Mandy, her straightest path to any revenge she wants is through them and thus they're the first she's going after. I'll try to address this in-story in a later chapter though, not just here.

I do know the episode of Danny Phantom you're talking about and I will definitely address that version of Pandora and her box, especially since with Dan, Manny, and Daniela in the story, it's a bit hard to ignore that show's continuity.

Lantern's immortality will be addressed in the story, so don't worry. Still not quite sure when I'll be writing Minnie into the story though. She's definitely going to be in it, given she's a big part of Junior's story, but I'm still figuring out the details of her arrival.

 **Emeraldalex123:** I think Pandora's appearance in that episode in Grim Adventures was based on Dora the Explorer (because Pandora has Dora in it and I think that's the only reason (still funny though)) so it does make since you'd think that. In fact I made sure to re-watch that particular episode before I decided to put her in the story so that I could remember what happened. Though in the actual Grim Tales comic, I believe Mandy forced Dora to become one of her many Nazi-ish recruits, so I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted some revenge too.

 **Commander M2:** I'm sorry to hear you feel that way. But I see that you've already written a fair amount of stories yourself so I'm sure you could write this idea of yours far better than I could. At the very least you'll have a better idea of what you'd want to see than I would, so I would encourage you to give writing it a shot. It could turn out pretty good.

* * *

 **Chapter Start**

Daniela's eyes blinked up at her unexpected savior as the ghost gently floated them both back down to the ground, the wasteland surrounding them being just a few miles outside of the City of Aku.

"You…you're…Dan?" Daniela stuttered, her pulse still pounding in her ears after all she'd just been through.

"Now what's with the uneasy tone, girl?" Dan joked with her as he gently set her back down on her feet. "I'd say you look like you've seen a ghost, but I'm not as into puns as I used to be. …Except when someone comes at me with an ax. That I'll do for nostalgic reasons."

Daniela paid little attention to the man's ramblings, as her racing mind was far too weighed down by the numerous events of the day. The moment Dan set her down Daniela's exhausted body fell right back into his arms.

"Please! Please, you have to help me!" She cried, clutching tightly onto his shirt as she begged. "He's…he's going to kill me!"

"Who? Junior?" Dan asked, understandably confused as to what happened to the teen after they last met, given how much more banged up she was than before (though seeing her in such a state did make him somewhat happy, as he had been afraid Junior was going to keep her out of all the action).

"No, not Junior. Some…robot man named Lantern!" Daniela explained hurriedly. "He ambushed us in the city and…I think I blacked out at some point. And when I woke up, Junior was…Junior was…" Her tired mind fought hard to remember what happened, but soon the image of the falling building and the consuming cloud of dust following it flashed back through her mind, causing her to remember it all, instantly reducing the young girl to tears.

"Hey, hey, what are you crying for? What happened?" He asked sternly, not quite liking his own kid just suddenly breaking down like this. Though whether it was because of protectiveness or disgust was debatable.

"…I think…I think he killed Junior." Daniela finally spit out.

Dan's eyes went wide at her words and for a solid moment, the ghost of destruction was completely silent.

Then a smile broke across his face and what started as a chuckle soon turned into roaring laughter.

"Junior?! Dead?! Oh! The best one I've heard all week!" Dan exclaimed, much to his daughter's shock. "You sure it's that and that he's not just resting in the blood of his enemies? Because that's a mix-up we've had happen to us once or twice before!"

"I'm being serious!" Daniela yelled at the ghost.

"So am I." Dan said. "Before the heat leaves their corpses it's not a bad place to catch some Z's. Though the smell tends to linger something awful. You know how hard it is to clean the smell of cadaver out of a jumpsuit when the Underworld only has, like, two laundromats per realm?"

Daniela just looked at him, thoroughly confused as to what was even happening right now.

"My point is…" Dan continued, getting back on topic. "I don't know what you think you saw, but I doubt it was old Bonehead's death. I've seen your brother get hit by blows that would have been the end for anyone else, most of which were caused by me personally, and he always just got right back up, usually more pissed off than hurt. I doubt some nobody named…what'd you say, Lantern?... Is going to be the one to put him in the ground all by his lonesome."

"But that's just it. …I don't think it was just him." Daniela explained, catching Dan's interest again. "When Lantern attacked us, we were on our way back home to warn our parents. Someone named The Boogieman, and another Grim Reaper named Morg. We were warned that they were planning some sort of revenge against our family. And when we were fighting Lantern, he made it seem as though he was specifically built to fight Junior and take him out. He said even had records of your fights against him in case he had to deal with you too."

This brought something of a smirk to Dan's face as he stroked his small white beard. "Oh? Well, now you've got me curious. Maybe I should take a look at the sight of your little showdown." He commented, looking off into the city in the distance.

Daniela almost agreed to take him, desperately hoping that the ghost's words were true and that Junior was still alive. But, it was both her fear of running into the orange cyborg again and knowing what Junior would want her to do that changed her mind.

"Please, I need your help." Daniela tried to persuade him. "I don't know if this Lantern is still back in the city but if he's working for the people who are after my family then he'll likely be heading for Castle Grimskull eventually. I have to warn them before it's too late!"

"You're making a good case for yourself, kid, but I'm not exactly looking to be someone's babysitter." Dan stated bluntly. "You're old enough to be handling these things on your own."

"Please!" Daniela begged in desperation. "I've seen that these people are able to teleport within protected realms! Lantern could already be there! After he took Junior down so quickly, if I don't warn them in time; mother, father, Manny, they could all be killed! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"

"Not particularly. In fact I-… Manny? I thought her name was Minnie?" Dan asked in confusion.

"No, no, Minnie is my older sister. Manny is the name of my twin brother." Daniela explained.

The ghost's eyes went wide and one could almost hear the sudden full stop of the gears in his brain.

"…You have a brother?" He asked.

"Yes."

"…A twin brother?"

"Yes."

"As in a boy version of you, right?"

"That's…that's not really how it works, but-"

Daniela then found Dan giving her a hearty slap on her shoulder, nearly causing the already wounded teen to fall over again, as a massive grin spread over the ghost's face.

"Well, turn that frown upside down, sunshine, because Dan the man is gonna give you a hand!" He stated proudly, pointing at himself with his thumb.

Daniela's head perked up slightly. "You-…you will?!" She then paused and thought about it for a minute. "…What's the catch?" She asked, knowing it couldn't be this simple.

"No catch. Well…not any you have to pay, anyway." Dan smiled. "Basically, I've grown bored with a lot of the people I have to fight with these days. Junior's the only one worth anything most of the time and that's mostly because his Reaper abilities are super effective against ghosts. Having more strong ghosts around to fight would certainly be in my best interest now, wouldn't it?" He explained to her, lying through his teeth. "…Your brother is strong, right?"

Daniela rubbed the back of her head. "Physically speaking, he is certainly much stronger than I." She admitted, unable to help but wonder how much better they'd have fared against Lantern if it'd been Manny there instead of her.

"That's what I like to hear." Dan said, oblivious to how down on herself his daughter was feeling.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Daniela focused herself. "Alright. We should best get moving. Without Junior's scythe portals, the journey between the City of Aku and Death's Domain will take several days, even at max flying speed."

"Hey, hey, hey, who do you think you're talking to here?" Dan asked, jokingly acting offended. "Strongest ghost in existence, remember? Which means I know I few cool tricks."

With a wave of his hand a spinning portal of sickly green energy appeared in the air before the two. Its green light reflected off Daniela's wide eyes and a solid cloud of breath escaped her lungs as it motioned to the portal.

"Ladies first." Dan gave a bowing motion for her towards the portal.

* * *

Pandora continued her mad cackling as all the evils of the world continued to spill out from her box. The great titan that was the former mountain walked with great effort towards the Castle of Grimskull, the ground quaking below with every footstep.

"Come out and face me, Mandy!" The girl cried in triumph as the skeleton guards who'd been sent to capture her fell to the ground below, completely hogtied by the long springs of meat that bound them and their horses. "You know you've had this coming for a long time!"

As if by her command the flying eyes and sandwiches collected together in a large narrow path, flying at great speeds towards the castle to bombard it. As the seemingly endless stream of pests made their attack, they were stopped just short of its walls, the swarm striking hard against some sort of invisible barrier that surrounded the home, their disintegration lighting up the unseen obstacle upon touch.

Despite this, Pandora was not worried, a mood that strangely enough matched that of Grim's inside.

"I guess I shoulda known der was nothing to worry about." Grim commented to Manny as he still stood by the window, watching the spectacle. "Our castle has de best anti-magic defenses in all the realms. Yer mother made sure of dat. Unless she can pull out something big before we get that damn box away from her, Dora won't be gettin' in here anytime soo-"

Grim then cut himself off as he looked to his side and saw that his youngest son was no longer there. Looking back out the window Grim watched as the ghost boy flew off towards the center of the action.

With eye sockets half closed the Grim Reaper let out a heavy sigh. "I know I'm Death but why are all my kids suicidal?" He asked the universe with a groan.

Flying past the hordes of eyes and demonic meats, Manny approached the shoulder of the Mountain Giant, where Pandora stood.

"Well, I see they let kindergarten out early today." Manny remarked cockily, floating in the air opposite of where the Greek girl stood.

"Begone from this place, boy. My quarrel is not with you." Pandora ordered him, unamused by the ghost teen's presence.

"Boy?! You look like you're about half my age." Manny said, noticeably offended.

"I am over two hundred times your age, brat!" Pandora yelled back. "Do you not know who I am? I am Pandora, the immortal! Cursed by the very gods themselves to walk the Earth until the end of time, as punishment for my opening of the box and unleashing of the evils of man upon the-!"

"HEY!" Manny yelled in interruption, startling Pandora at its suddenness.

"…What?"

"I don't care." Manny said simply before blasting a stream of ecto-energy from his fist. Pandora lifted the box up quickly and held it in front of her, the stream shooting into it instead and getting lost inside its endless depths.

Once Manny stopped his attack, Pandora lowered the box slightly, looking at Manny in annoyance. "You're just as impulsive as the reports said you'd be." She commented.

"Ohh? You have reports on me? Do they mention I'm a righty?" The ghost boy quipped as he threw himself forward for a punch. But just inches before his fist connected with Pandora's unflinching face, a long metallic whip of some sort appeared out of nowhere from behind Manny and wrapped itself around his wrist. A second came from behind and did the same to his left.

"What the-!" He started before he was cut off by a third wrapping itself around his neck, quickly tightening to choke him hard, before a sudden surge of electricity flowed through the cables and caused Manny to scream in pain as the voltage filled him.

"You didn't think millennia old sandwiches and living mountains were the only things I had in my little box of tricks, did you?" Pandora mocked once the electricity stopped, with the groaning and slightly steaming Manny now hanging suspended in the air by the whips. "Oh no, I've got an entire Tartarus worth's of beasts and monsters waiting to come out and play. For example, meet the creatures that were once the bane of King Phineus' existence: The Harpies!"

Straining his eyes to look back, flying behind him and holding the whips were three very pale, almost albino-like women. Each was very beautiful in appearance, though the presence of the bird-like claws and talons that replaced their hands and feet would distract most from this. As the large purple wings under their arms kept them each airborne as they eyed their prey hungrily, Manny couldn't help but notice something in particular about their golden metal armor.

"Why are they wearing metal bondage outfits with pointed nipples?" Manny asked. "I mean, not that I mind. I actually had a dream kind of like this once, but…"

"Being trapping in a box for about three thousand years makes people bored. I try not to judge." Pandora shrugged. She then looked up at the bird-women and snapped her fingers, giving the order for them to continue, something they were all too happy to oblige, as the Harpy sisters reactivated their electro whips and got Manny to started screaming again. "Despite your ghostly appearance, my little lady friends here can probably smell the man meat of your other form. They figure if they can keep pushing you just enough, you'll change back and they can have some real food to sink their claws into."

Manny face grimaced heavily, as he tried to fight through the pain and stop screaming long enough to say something. "Does…! D-does…!"

"Oh? What was that?" Pandora asked, playfully holding her hand up to her ear. "You'll have to speak up, boy. I can't hear you very well over the sound of your flesh frying."

Through eyes barely able to open, Manny looked dead at the girl. "Does…your…report say that I've…never…hit a girl…before?" He asked as the electricity continued to surge through his body.

Pandora let out a small chuckle, unable to help it after the strangeness of his comment.

"W-want to know w-why?" Manny asked, his sudden smirk wiping Pandora's own off her face. His hands then pushed forward to grab hold of the whips that bound his wrists, holding them tight as he let out a yell. Only this was not a yell of pain but rather one of power, as his entire being glowed bright green before energy exploded outward from his body, blinding Pandora and encompassing all three fearful Harpies before they had time to react.

When her vision returned to her, Pandora saw only Manny floating before her, the Harpies having been reduced to ash falling to the ground below and scattering in the wind.

Manny panted slightly hard but let out a breath of victory. "It's because Daniela always turns intangible." He finished with a smile.

The immortal blinked at the sudden shift but after a moment gave a small smirk of acknowledgement. "Very well, ghost boy. It would seem I have underestimated your presence in this battle. It would seem I need to bring out something with a little more stopping power if I want to take you down."

Manny's grin got wider. "Damn right you do! Come on! Bring out something worth my time before I take that little box of yours away from you and shove it straight up your-!"

Something slimy and wet then splat against Manny's face. The teen was quick to rip it away, holding it out in front of him to see what it was.

And it was a frog.

A frog with strangely long arms and legs, but a frog nonetheless.

A frog that could talk.

"We're going to kill you all! YAAAAAAAAAY!"

With a quick startled yelp Manny dropped the frog, only for it to bounce along the Mountain Giant's chest and join Pandora at its shoulder, along with three other identical frogs that stood beside her.

The frogs then started to sing, moving their heads back and forth as they did so.

" _Look at us! Here we are! Right where we belong!"_

Manny just floated and blinked at the sight as they continued to sing. "I…I don't…I don't even…what?"

The bizarre frogs concluded the first part of their song with another round of "YAAAAAAAAAY!", only this times, with the four of them together the large shape of a music note appeared in the air before their mouths before flying out and striking Manny hard. Having not expected the sudden and very unusual attack, Manny went flying, knocked down towards the ground like a rocket, cracking the rocky terrain hard.

His ghost form able to take a good bit of punishment, Manny was quick to get up from the hole he made, though he was understandably both irritated and confused.

"The hell kind of attack was that?!" Manny yell out in anger before noticing four more frogs now surrounding him on the ground. It was at this time that he realized that these creatures were not just simply appearing before him but rather falling like the blood-rain from the sky, as evidenced by the hundreds of musically inclined amphibians drizzling down from the clouds above and covering the mountains surrounding the castle.

Manny then heard the four around him take in a breath.

"…Noooo…" He slowly ordered the frogs.

Even from as high up as the window was from where Grim was watching, the old skeleton could still hear the faint "YAAAAAAAAAY!" call from down below, followed by a muffled explosion and a loud swear that Manny probably learned from him.

"Hm. Plague of frogs. Been a while since I've seen dat once." He commented. "Bit odd dat a plague of Egypt is in a box made by de Greek Gods but I suppose dem deities always did like to steal each other's ideas."

Meanwhile in the security room Mandy was pinching the space between her eyes in irritation, supposing she should have known Manny would have just thrown himself into all this without a plan.

"Charles…"

"Right away, Master." Lord Pain bowed and ran out of the room, understanding his lord's order immediately.

Removing her fingers from her eyes, on the many monitors that littered the room Mandy could see the literal hundreds of frogs scaling the Mountain Giant and covering the creature like slimy green armor. As soon as they were settled in wherever they could find on its body, the frogs' musical attacks turned towards the castle, millions of notes blasting out from the giant's body as it lumbered forward and bombarded the walls that protected the home. They were not yet enough to break through, though the castle trembled down to its very foundation at the continuous assault.

One step further and the giant was at the Grim family's doorstep, its massive rock-filled head drooling vacantly as it hovered over the castle. Lifting an arm the size of a skyscraper up towards the heavens, the giant brought its fist crashing down upon the home, only to be blocked by the same barrier that prevented the swarms from getting in.

The simple giant eyed the castle in confused irritation, unable to understand why it was not crushed and not even noticing the bits of rock and boulder that fell away from its arm after contact with the barrier. But at Pandora's urging, the Mountain struck again, while the frogs continued their own assault alongside the brute.

And as her world thundered and quaked around her, Mandy's face retained the same bored expression she'd worn for the majority of her life.

"Activate the Binary Fusion Cannon." She ordered one of the many skeletal servants at the controls.

With a simple nod in response, the skeleton and his brethren typed the proper commands into their keyboards, each flipping a red switch as soon as they finished.

Beneath them all, the red eyes of the mountainous metal and horned head upon which the very castle itself stood perched began to glow. The Mountain Giant's hammering ceased when the head then started to slowly turn to face it directly. Manny, whom was currently at the very bottom of the mountain surrounding the metal head, though busy punching and blasting for his at every frog that lunged at him, even found his attention captured by his suddenly mobile home.

Once it was properly aligned with its target, the metal head then opened further its massive iron jaws, the upper half of its "skull" tilting back almost a full forty-five degrees, causing nearly everything within the castle atop its head to hold on for dear life (save for Mandy, whom simply stood firmly where she was).

With a confused look splashed across its simple rocky face, the Mountain Giant watched as behind the head's many jagged teeth a bright white light started to emerge, with a low hum getting louder above the singing frogs.

Like a nuclear bomb condensed into a single shot, a cold white beam of pure power erupted from the metal head's mouth and struck the monster. The Mountain Giant barely gave half a scream before it was simply obliterated in its light. The Domain of Death shook for miles outward from the center of the impact. The frogs that'd covered the giant's torso erupted into flames before instantly turning to ash. What was not turned to dust from the Mountain's body simply fell back to earth as lifeless rock, creating a great many hazards for the remaining amphibians, as well as a quickly turning intangible Manny, to dodge out of the way of, lest they be crushed.

The blast ended and the mouth reclosed, the wide chasm etched into the wasteland by the cannon's fire stretching off into the horizon, further than the eye could see.

And as the dust cleared away from what remained of her animated titan, Pandora still stood, high up in the air on the back of a horse of flaming black wings and mane. Slightly shaken after barely escaping the blast, but alive and still with her open box.

"That…that wasn't even aimed at me, was it, Mandy?" Pandora yelled out to the castle, sure the queen had some way of hearing her. "Just at my giant. What's the matter? Don't tell me you're getting soft in your old age?"

"I will never understand why these idiots feel the need to hype themselves." Mandy commented offhandedly to herself, as even from the monitors she could tell that Pandora thought she was lucky to be alive. Turning to another of the skeletons she ordered "Send in the Tikbalangs. Let's try and get this crap wrapped up."

"Yes, my queen."

As soon as given their lord's command, the muscular horsemen of blazing orange manes marched out from their quarters within the depths of the castle. With impossible skill and feet of flames, the royal guards of the Grim family scaled down the smooth sides of castle's mechanical head and the mountain below it as well, the hundreds of elite soldiers now ready to join the battle.

Be it with spears of light or just their raw fists, the Tikbalangs pushed back against the hordes of singing frogs and swarming sandwiches, one group cutting a path towards Manny, whom sit stood fighting. The teen only really took notice of his saviors when a frog he was about to blast was suddenly squished beneath a hoof of fire.

"Master Manny, are you all right?" Asked the guard whom had done the stomping, casually wiping the green remains of his foot on the ground.

Though his clothes were partially torn and he was breathing a bit harder than he was used to, Manny still seemed like he was genuinely enjoying himself. "Are you kidding me? These things are singing fucking frogs and yet they way beat the hell out of all those zombies in Hela's place! This is a fight I've been waiting for!"

"Hm." The Tikbalang said simply. "Well…I suppose the young master's excitement is to be admired. Still, though it is in spite of that, this battle should hopefully not last much longer, given the danger this woman's box presents."

"Oh, come on, what's the worst that she could send at us?" Manny asked.

"Sir, why would you ever say that?" The horseman asked dryly. "Do you not know of the cliché?"

"What's a cliché?"

Meanwhile, up on high, Pandora watched as her forces slowly became thinned. "Alright, let's see what else we can pull out of this thing." She muttered before shaking the box quickly.

Upon her shaking a massive black fist punched out from the top of the box, connected to an arm so muscular it could barely fit out of the opening.

"…That'll work." Pandora shrugged before turning the box upside down and shaking it hard.

Down below as they continued to fight, Manny and the Tikbalangs heard a small popping noise, like something had just become unstuck.

Seconds later and a hulking black shape came crashing down upon them, its impact creating a shockwave that scattered frog and Tikbalang alike away. When it stood up from the crater it made, the creature stared its blazing red eyes directly towards Manny and the horseman whom had come to his aid.

The beast was covered in a thick layer of solid black fur and stood nearly twice as high as the majority of the already impressively built Tikbalangs. Its iron-like hooves scraped against the ground and the bull horns atop its head moved from one side to the other as the creature loudly cracked its neck.

"Ah yes. I suppose we should have known this beast would appear sooner or later." The Tikbalang said, aiming his spear forward at the newly arrived monster, ready for its charge.

"Should have known…? What do you mean? What is this thing?" Manny asked quickly, able to almost feel how tense the guard was becoming.

"Greek mythos tells tales of many great and terrible monsters, my prince." The horseman explained while not taking his eyes away from the creature. "One of the most infamous and mighty of these monsters was the first of many man/beast hybrids. The great Minotaur of Crete!"

The bull beast then gave a low and dark chuckle, causing the Tikbalang to grip his spear tighter and even cause Manny to sweat a bit. "Fools." The beast said simply in its deep, gravelly voice. "I am no puny Minotaur. I am a beast of an even greater breed than that fool Asterion could ever dream of being. I…am Biceptor! First of the MANOTAURS!" The beast flexed as he roared his name.

Manny and the guard shared a look of confusion between the two of them. "The Manotaurs?"

"YES! THE MANOTAURS!" Biceptor yelled as he stomped his hoof against the ground, causing both to jump at the small tremor created. "Half man! Half…uh…half taur!"

While both men simply blinked at the sudden shift, the Tikbalang still focused himself enough to step forward between the beast and his prince. "Very well then "Manotaur". Whatever creature you may be does not matter, in all honesty. You and your master are still trespassers in the land of my master, the great Queen Mandy! To stand against her is to invite Death himself to give you his pity, for the torments that await your very being will not be kind and they will not be short. In fact, the only swiftness that shall come for you, shall me my spear through your chest!"

With a single cry of battle, the Tikbalang guard charged forward, his legs of flame blazing his path across the ground as his spear attacked his target like an arrow sent from the depths of Hell.

With one single motion the Manotaur casually struck the charging horseman with the back of his hand, sending the guard flying off into the sky behind him, the Tikbalang's yell becoming increasingly fainter as he arced through the sky, until he finally hit the ground about a mile away.

With one opponent gone, the Manotaur simply turned to Manny. "You. Ghost child." Biceptor pointed.

"Yeah…?" Manny asked, nervously standing his ground.

"I have but one question for you."

"What?"

"What…do you think of the 80's Icelandic pop band BABBA?"

Manny just blinked. "…The hell kind of a name is BABBA?"

One could almost hear Biceptor's face cracking as a smile spread across it. "I like you, ghost child." Biceptor told Manny proudly. "When I crush your skull, it will be in acknowledgement of another true MAN!"

Without allowing Manny even another moment to think, the Manotaur beast charged forward, horns first. With barely a second to spare Manny's panic moved him out of the way as Biceptor's head shammed into the ground where he'd stood, the man-bull's face leaving a perfect imprint of itself in the rock.

His instincts guiding him, Manny made use of his opening and unleashed a barrage of ectoplasmic fury upon the Manotaur's turned back. The green blasts indeed struck their target but Biceptor didn't even flinch, Manny's power merely singeing bits of his fur. With arms thick as trees Biceptor swung back at Manny, the edge of his fist connecting with the teen's ghostly body. Manny could instantly feel one of his ribs break and was send tumbling back. The injury caused him cough and wheeze hard but he was given no time to recover as Biceptor chased after him. Manny's power of flight was his only advantage, as well as the only reason his head was not taken off by Biceptor's anvil-like fists; his spectral body darting from side to side in the air just above the ground as the Manotaur fought with the speed and technique of a jackhammer.

Tired of Manny dodging everything, Biceptor decided for a different type of attack, taking in a deep snort of air into his snout to fuel the torrent of flames he blasted out from his nostrils. Eyes wide in surprise and panic, Manny's hands glowed brightly as he fired back, countering the blast with his own.

The power struggle lasted for only a moment before an explosion of red and green flame pushed the two apart.

The smoke from the shared blast cleared and the two opponents found themselves standing opposite each other again, though Manny panting much harder than the beast he fought. Yet strangely enough, even with this clear advantage, the Manotaur did not immediately strike again.

"You do not try to phase through my attacks?" Biceptor asked, one of his thick black eyebrows raised questionably.

"I don't like going intangible." Manny huffed, though his stance with his fists out showing he was still ready to fight. "It always feels like a cheap trick. I'd rather be able to take a punch than just have it pass through me."

Manny words brought another true smile to the beast's face. "Pandora was right to bring me out to face you, ghost child. For centuries I have been imprisoned in that accursed box, unable to fight any true warriors worthy of the title of MAN! In my gratitude, I will give you one free hit upon me."

"Hey! No! I don't want your pity or your hand out!" Manny yelled in anger, feeling like the Manotaur was talking down to him. "I don't need any handicap to beat you!"

"It is not a handicap!" Biceptor stated defiantly. "It is a show of might! You hit me with all the power you can muster! And I prove my power by taking it! Either your power wins or mine does! No dodging! No running! Just a face-to-face struggle of MANLINESS!" Biceptor took a moment to flex. "…Does that sound acceptable to you, ghost child?"

Manny stood still, taking in all of the beast's words. As they made their way into his mind, Manny clenched his fists.

"Yeah." He said, staring Biceptor down determinately. "Actually, that sounds like exactly what I've been waiting for, for a long time."

"Then come, ghost child." Biceptor said, slapping his pecs. "Hit me with your best shot!"

Manny's fists clenched in determination. The man-bull was serious and leaving himself wide open, stance wide and arms at his side as he was ready to tank though what Manny would send at him. And after all the opponents the ghost had fought up to this point, the few that there were, from the castle's servants to the citizens of Hel to his sister herself, the thought of finally having a real opponent to take him seriously…it brought a smile to his face.

Manny threw his arms out at his sides and his hands lit up with green power. But in something that was a rarity for the teen, Manny did not fire off right away but instead contained the power in his palms as it continued to build up. This was something incredibly dangerous and he still didn't have a good handle on the technique yet. It was loosely based on the ecto-ball exercises their teachers had made him and Daniela do when they were younger. He'd never been good at it and he still wasn't. Every ball he ever made always ended up blowing up in his face because he put too much energy into it. But, even in failing, the exercises had taught him how to pump out a lot of power very quickly, such as the case now.

He'd only charged up close to this much energy once before and he'd nearly blown his own hands off in doing so. Like with the bubbles in the exercises, he could only contain the building power for a few seconds before it was too much for him to control. This much was clear, as from his pulsing bright hands green electricity was lashing out at random at everything around him as he struggled to contain his own power. The lightning scraped the ground, kicking up stone and dirt as it passed through and even striking back at Manny's own arms, causing him to grimace slightly from the pain. The earth quaked around him and the pressure from the rising energy caused bits of loose rock to float up around him. Only five seconds into the build-up and Manny could feel his muscles already starting to twitch and burn. He was already at his limit.

Manny threw his hands together, his palms pointed towards Biceptor.

"DEVASTATION…CANNON!" Manny roared as he finally let go.

The two pools of energy joined into one and then erupted into a blast of epic power. Manny could barely keep his eyes open as the green to almost blinding white beam stretched out before him from his hands. Faster than the eye could see it cut a path straight though the earth until it hit its target. True to his word, the Manotaur did not attempt to dodge the attack and took the full impact of the entire thing. Though from his wide red eyes of surprise, it would seem he realized he'd underestimated how much power the ghost teen had been capable of, as the mere sound of the ecto-blast striking his chest was like thunder.

Still though, Biceptor did not move away. Even as the force of the blast scorched his skin and slowly pushed him back, as evidenced by his hooves scrapping along the ground. Even as the mighty wind from his own blast blew Manny's hair and cape back and the teen felt like he could just as well be blown back soon as well. Neither wished to back down.

But, in the end, reality sets in, and one proves that they are stronger than the other.

Though Manny's blast still hammered against his chest, Biceptor still found it quite easy to move. The man-bull puffed up his chest, allowing the beam to hit him in the center of his pecs. In a bizarre bit of flexing the beast's muscular chest started to shape itself around the blast and hold it in. Biceptor's face turned purple from the pressure he was building up, but a few seconds later and he let out a deafening roar, his pecs pressing together hard enough to send Manny's beam bouncing right back at him.

Manny's eyes went wide as could be and he quickly dove out of the way of his own attack, the blast causing his cape to catch fire as it passed through it but thankfully that was the worst of it.

Breathing hard on the ground after his dive, Manny turned quickly back to see Biceptor. A large black scorch was now marked across the beast's chest; his chest hair having been burned away. But seemed of little concern to Biceptor as he casually brushed some of the soot off his remaining fur.

"You fought well. I will remember you as one of the few MAN enough to meet my challenge." He said. "But now, it is time for our battle to end."

Biceptor started his advance. At first Manny's body refused to move up from the ground, his mind still in shock that his strongest attack did next to nothing. It was only the sudden crunch of a rock under the man-bull's hoof as he walked that finally caused a sudden jolt bring Manny quickly back to his feet. Operating purely on panic and desperation Manny threw every last bolt of ecto-energy he could create at Biceptor, tears of frustration welling up in his eyes as it did not to even slow his enemy down.

With it being the last thing he could think of, Manny stopped his assault and split into four duplicates of himself, causing Biceptor to pause momentarily in surprise.

"Oh! Duplication." Biceptor said, quite impressed, before he started walking again. "I'd forgotten there were ghost who had that ability."

Taking in as much breath as they could, the four Mannys let loose their Ghostly Wails upon Biceptor, giving it every last bit they had. It finally slowed the beast but that was all it did. Biceptor continued to power his way through the sonic attack, his hooves cracking into the ground with each step, creating footholds to keep him from sliding back. One by one as their energy left them, the Mannys started to disappear, their Wails vanishing with them, until only the original ghost boy was left, screaming with all his might just to keep the beast back just a few seconds more.

The green waves begin to flicker as Manny's voice started to give out. With a barely auditable wheeze it finally did, Manny collapsing to his knees and unwillingly changing back to his human form, not having enough left in him to maintain his ghost half.

Biceptor stopped just a foot away from where Manny knelt, his large shadow easily enveloping the whole of him. "Do not feel saddened, ghost child." He told him as he watched Manny gasp for air. "Even if your duplicates had lasted longer, I still would have been able to fight back against them."

To show what he meant, Biceptor grabbed hold of the mane that was his large black beard with both hands before violently ripping it away from his face, a single tear falling from his eye from the pain. In an instant a new beard sprouted to replace the old one and Biceptor threw the two halves off his old beard to his sides. Reaching under his pits, the man-bull did the same with the hair under there as well, throwing it off to the side.

Wondering what was the point in Biceptor hurting himself like this, Manny gave a jerk back as arms thick as Biceptor's own suddenly sprouted up from the four piles of hair. Watching in horror as hooves and horns soon followed, Manny now found himself face-to-face with four more Manotaurs that'd grown from the piles of hair, each nearly as big and muscular as Biceptor himself, though none had black fur like his, thus showing he was still their leader.

"…This is just a weird day." Manny could help but say even in his exhausted state.

Biceptor beamed with pride as he looked over his creations. "This is how I first started the Manotaur race. There were no Womanotaurs during my time before the box, so I had to make do."

Manny didn't even dare to follow the other Manotaurs' paths as they circled around him, staring straight ahead at Biceptor, now truly realizing how small he was in comparison to the behemoth.

With a smile spread across his face, Biceptor crashed his fist into Manny's face. Stream of blood from his mouth marking his path across the ground, Manny flew back into the space of the Manotaur behind him, allowing the beast to crack him in the back with his own fist. Sent flying towards another Manotaur to the left, this one crashed his knee into Manny chest, causing the teen to violently cough up blood on the beast's thigh before being sent off to another one by the impact.

Like a sick little game, Manny was sent bouncing around between the five monsters, each giving him another bit of beating before sending him off to get pounded by another. After what felt like an eternity of punches, kicks, horns, and headbutts, one of the Manotaurs unintentionally didn't hit Manny hard enough to send him to one of his brothers and Manny simply fell into the center of the open circle, barely even feeling it as his chest slammed against the ground.

His black hair was soaked and sticky with his own blood. His face was so bruised and swollen Manny was barely recognizable. His hand twitched uncontrollably on its own and he wasn't sure if he could even feel his legs anymore. The rest of his body was in so much pain that simply breathing seemed to sap what little strength was left in him, his broken ribs pressing hard against his lungs.

His vision started to grow dark and blurry, though his injuries might not be the only cause of this. Biceptor's shadow was once again cast over Manny as he approached him while Manny's tears started to stream down his eyes and mix with the redness spilling out from his body.

He was helpless. There was nothing he could do. Every thought he had to try and save himself just seemed to fade out into darkness. As his mind started to blur with his vision, Manny's thoughts simply drifted into his unconscious memories.

" _Are you sure you want to do this, Manny?" Junior asked with concern as he jabbed his titanic sword into the ground beside the training yard._

" _Hell yeah!" Manny exclaimed excitedly. "Most I ever get to fight around here are some of the guards and her." He gestured his head at Daniela as she sat down on a nearby bench. "After what you did to those three bozos in Hel, there's no way that I'm going to pass up this chance."_

" _Do you already forget that those three "bozos" as you call them nearly killed you?" Daniela asked. "What makes you think you even have a chance against our brother if you couldn't even take them?"_

" _Shut up, they just took us by surprise! I wasn't ready for them then. I am ready for Junior though!" Manny yelled at her._

 _Junior, walking so that he faced opposite Manny on the yard, said "Manny, you know you don't have to prove yourself to us, right? It's not like I've never gotten my butt kicked."_

 _Manny, not seeming to have heard him, simply smiled with a wide battle-hungry grin and asked "Are you ready?"._

 _Junior looked like he gave an internal sigh but did smile slightly back, seeing how excited for this his little brother was. "Alright. Let's go."_

 _The words left his mouth and Manny on que split himself into his four doubles and charged through the air at Junior. Even though the fight had just started Manny couldn't help but be in awe of his brother. It was a fury of fists from four different directions and yet Junior was dodging or blocking all of them with ease with his forearms. And just when Manny thought Junior was hold back on him because he wasn't spawning any weapons, the ghost boy got on suddenly elbow into his stomach and fist-caused bloody nose for one of his doubles._

" _You shouldn't leave yourselves open like that." Junior smiled, wagging his finger, to which Manny could swear he heard Daniela giggle from behind her fan._

 _Still, this did little to dampen his spirits. "Let_ _my_ _guard down? Then why are you the one who's fallen into the trap of my brand-new attack?"_

 _Junior raised his eyebrow questionably, watching as the four Mannys put a bit more distance between him and them, though each one surrounding him from a different direction._

 _It was the flicker of a shadow one the ground that alerted the Reaper to what was coming and he threw his head up quickly to see a fifth Manny floating above him, taking in his breath._

 _The duplicate unleashed its Ghostly Wail down upon him, the other four soon doing the same. Upon Junior's body the multiple attacks made contact with each other, creating a deafening green explosion that shook the training yard._

 _Manny's doubles faded away, leaving the panting main body to revert back to human form. "How (huff) did you like it?" Manny asked the smoking area where he'd struck. "I (huff) call it: Symphony of Vengeance!"_

 _But Junior didn't answer back, and when the smoke cleared, Manny only saw a singed black crater where he'd struck, their brother's absence causing Daniela to quickly leap to her feet._

" _Manny! What did you do?!" She screamed in shock._

 _Manny looked rapidly back and forth between his sister and the crater. "I-I thought he could take it!" He said panicking. "He's supposed to be this super awesome bounty hunter! I thought he was going to be fine! I-I thought-!"_

 _But then Manny heard a small cracking noise beneath his feet. Looking down he saw a green and black skeletal hand burst up from the ground and grab his ankle. Before he even knew what was happening Manny was suddenly dragged under in a large cloud of dust and dirt._

 _Coughing as the dust cleared, Manny reopened his eyes to find that only his head was above ground, the rest of him trapped under and with Junior standing crouched down before him._

 _Junior poked Manny's forehead with his finger, his hand imitating a gun. "Bang." He smiled. "I win."_

 _Manny, still recovering from his partially shock that Junior was okay, stuttered "N-no! I can-…I can still fight! I just got to-to-" But even with the teen's best efforts he could not move enough to free himself from the ground, his multiple Wails having drained too much of his energy for him to even change back to his ghost form._

 _Grabbing Manny by the collar of his shirt, Junior pulled him up out of the ground like a carrot, brushing some of the dirt off him as he helped Manny stand._

" _That was quite the impressive attack back there." Junior commented._

" _I know, right?" Manny said excitedly._

" _Pity it leaves you wide open and drained after." Junior added, his tone making it clear there was a point to his words._

 _Feeling slightly embarrassed, Manny said "Well…usually whatever that attack hits goes down. I guess you were just too strong for it, huh?"_

" _I didn't let it hit me."_

 _After a moment Manny blinked at him. "What…what do you mean?"_

" _I mean I wasn't sure how much of the blast I could take and so I decided to just get out of the way." Junior explained, pointing to the small hole in the center of the crater. "No need to tank the hit if I can just move around it."_

 _Manny looked noticeably frustrated by this. "So you just did what Daniela always does! You avoided everything instead of actually fighting!"_

" _I think the hole I just pulled you out of proves otherwise." Junior responded calmly. "I was fighting you. But I was fighting you my way. A way to didn't play to your strengths but to mine."_

" _Play to my strengths?" Manny asked._

" _That's right." Junior said. "I could see how powerful those Wail attacks were, how much damage they could possibly do to me. But since I could do something that you couldn't see coming to avoid it, I saw no reason not to do it. If I'd fought you just head-on, I'd have been playing to your strengths and been at a disadvantage. Can you imagine yourself ever doing that?"_

 _Manny answered hesitantly. "Well…I suppose not. But still…this was supposed to be a real fight between us."_

" _You think any fight I've had against any of my bounties has been different from this?" Junior asked rhetorically. "I've fought loads of freaks, from the mystical to the Sci-Fi channelish, each with their own variety of reasons for being dangerous enough to have prices on their heads. If I just stubbornly fought them all the same way each time, I'd have long given up being a bounty hunter, as I'd clearly be no good at it."_

 _Junior placed his hand on Manny's shoulder. "Just something to think about. Alright? It's the same logic as why even you will blast someone instead of punching them. Play to what works for you, not your opponent."_

Manny coughed up more blood on the ground, keeping himself from choking on it, as these words rang through his skull. _"I didn't listen at all."_ He thought to him as Biceptor loomed over him. _"My only strength is strength…and the Manotaur just has too much more of it than me."_

Biceptor took in a snort of air, Manny recognizing the fire blast that was soon to come. His fingers curled up and crunched the dirt beneath them, the most movement he was capable of. As tears leaked from his eye, he silently cursed his helplessness, all because he thought he knew better than those who tried to help him.

Fire erupted from Biceptor's nostrils to consume the boy.

" _That's weird."_ Manny thought. _"It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would."_

Though his vision was nothing but red flickers and he could certainly feel the heat, Manny was surprised that he wasn't feeling himself actually burn.

Biceptor cut his attack off for some reason and Manny heard him say "Who are you supposed to be?"

With great effort Manny glanced upwards, the first things his eyes seeing being the spiked cudgel hanging close to his face and the heat glow of a shield as its owner lowered it back down.

"Do not worry, young master." Said the ghost boy's sudden protector as he stood between him and Biceptor. "I'm here now."

"Charles?"

* * *

"Takes your breath away, doesn't it?" Dan said, making another of the many puns he claimed to have sworn off.

Even as she gawked, Daniella's body couldn't stop shivering. Her solid breath kept forcing its way out through her lips, her ghost sense continuously set off by every little thing around her and Dan.

She'd never been to the Ghost Zone before and after today she very would never want to again, as every second she spent here made her feel like she was going mad. The green tinted realm seemed to stretch on forever in every direction she turned, yet in a completely contradicting feeling Daniela also felt like she was suffocating. The air around her felt thick and slimy as it pushed against her, with the echoes, for lack of a better word, of stone buildings and staircases on their sides and upside-down all around her. They seemed solid enough yet Daniela felt like she could see right through them, not helped by the numerous structures forming shifting tunnels that seemed to have no end, their view partially blocked by the hundreds of floating purple doors littered randomly throughout the realm. Once or twice Daniela gave a jolt backwards as some shapeless green forms blew past them, cackling like mad.

Though she was floating Daniela almost knelled over. "I think I'm going to be sick." She said, hand quickly clasping over her mouth.

Dan merely chuckled. "Yeah. I remember my first trip to the Ghost Zone. Think I was chasing a box or something. …Was that when I first met Box Ghost? …No…no, that was earlier…"

Daniela, steadying herself and trying to find something to focus herself on other than the realm itself, turned slowly to Dan and asked "How did we get here? I thought only the ruler of a realm could open up portals to it."

"Heh. Not in this case, kid, though it'd certainly make Walker's life easier." Dan said. "The Ghost Zone is kind of famous for all the portal holes that keep randomly opening and closing here. Some lead to other realms, some lead to other parts of the Ghost Zone. Hell, a few of them even open up to a different time. Why do you think ol' Warden Whiteface is so obsessed with order? It's the one thing this place doesn't have, with everything else and their mother constantly spilling in and out."

"But if Lord Walker cannot control the portal openings, why can you?" Daniela asked.

"Technically I don't." Dan explained casually. "I've just been around long enough and fought enough things to notice stuff others haven't. For instance, there are these little cracks all throughout the realms, all stretching out from the Ghost Zone." Dan raised his hands out, his fingers wiggling as if they were moving through something. "Most of them stretch out through the human world but there are some in realms like your mom's and the other Big Five's. There's not as many because those lot have done their damndest to find all the cracks in their realms and seal them completely."

"Why? What do they do?" Daniela asked.

"They're the reasons for the portals, sport. Leaving a crack running through their realms is like leaving their door unlocked while they're not there just because the door sticks. It works fine until someone else finds out about it, and then when they put in just the right amount of effort…"

Smiling widely, Dan's hand started to glow with a light red color. Twisting his palm like he was turning a doorknob, Daniela watched in awe as a swirling green vortex came into form before them.

"That's…that's incredible." She breathed.

"It won't stay open for long. These temporary ones aren't meant to, but it was the closest I could find to your house at the moment." Dan beamed. Then, turning his head to her, "You could probably do it too, you know."

"I…I could?" Daniela said, slightly disbelievingly.

"Of course. It's not too hard to do it once you know how it works, and of course, have the right stuff for the job too." Dan said, nudging her with his elbow.

Rubbing her side, slightly embarrassed, Daniela simply responded "Well, while your support is encouraging, given what you've said about Lord Walker, I doubt either Manny or I could manage to do what you can."

"Don't tell me you believe all that garbage about him." Dan scoffed, turning to the portal. "The man's all hype, trust me. He only has this gig because Pariah is probably still asleep."

"Perhaps, but even if that is the case, is it not also true that most children's' natural abilities are somewhat limited by what the parent is capable of?" Daniela asked, following Dan as they moved towards the portal.

"I suppose, but opening these things isn't exactly what I'd call a natural-…" Dan then cut himself off, stopping in his tracks as Daniela's words fully registered to him, causing the girl bump into his back. Dan turned back to her. "…What did you just say?"

"I was merely saying that if Lord Walker is unable to open the portals then it is unlikely my brother and I would fair any better on our own, as no ability or talent would have been passed on to us." She explained.

Dan blinked. "Because you think…Walker is your father…" He said slowly.

Daniela rubbed her arm, looking to the side. "Well…not for certain, no. Manny and I never met our birth father, and while we are grateful to Lord Death for raising us, it is clearly not him. Given our mother's affection for power and might, we figured our father must be a very powerful ghost, likely the most powerful, as I cannot imagine mother to ever settle for anything less. And with Pariah Dark lost to the ages, that leaves only Lord Walker."

For a solid minute Dan just stared unblinkingly at her, though for a second Daniela could swear she noticed his eye twitch. Finally, Dan closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Okay. Okay. I get it. I. Get. It. I'm cool, I'm cool, I'm fine. I'm…fine. …Right."

Dan's eye gave another small twitch and he turned to face away from Daniela.

"MOTHER FUCKERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" He roared, his Ghostly Wail blowing a clear hole through everything a mile across the Ghost Zone.

He then turned back to Daniela, jabbing his finger at her and causing her to jump. "You! Get on my back! Hold on tight around my neck! And don't! Let! Go!"

Clear her ally was in a very bad mood, Daniela did as he said without question, moving quickly to grab hold behind him. And as soon as her arms were placed around the ghost's thick neck, Dan's dove them both straight through the portal.

Due to the lack a sickly green Daniela could guess they had left the Ghost Zone, though that was all she could tell as the moment. Everything around them seemed to blur into one solid moving image of color and blazing winds as Dan's speed cut a path through the sky like a trail of green light, his teeth grinding so hard it was a wonder he didn't break any of them. It was only by Daniela practically digging her nails into his skin that she managed not to somehow fall off, though not that Dan even seemed to notice.

* * *

"Ch-Charles?" Manny coughed as he struggled to see him better.

"Do not get up, young master." Lord Pain said with a simple order, not staring away from Biceptor as he stood between the two. "It is my greatest of sorrows that I could not come to your aid sooner, but I had to assemble more of the troops to bring down with me, as per the master's instructions."

"Troops?" Manny asked.

"Yes, though one had hardly blame you for focusing more on your battle than those going on around you." Lord Pain answered him.

Sure enough, as Manny looked past the Manotaurs surrounding him and his mother's servant he could see how much more escalated the battle for the castle had become. Frogs were being tossed and stabbed left and right as the resurgence of Tikbalangs spilled onto the battlefield. From out of Pandora's box spilled out more Harpies and Manotaurs to meet this new wave, though to Manny's relief none as big as Biceptor. The snake-haired Gorgons walked briskly across the grounds at Pandora's command, the serpent women continuously hissing as every enemy that crossed their path was instantly turned to stone upon meeting their gaze. As Manny felt himself shaking along with the ground he recognized the sound of his mother's (technically Grim's) beloved three-headed dog, Cerberus, bounding across the battlefield, its many hungry jaws snapping at any foe unfortunate enough to get in its way. From Pandora's side Manny believed he could see her sending out some dogs of her own to take it down, them having two-heads instead of three and manes made of snakes. The Orthruses charged fearlessly at Cerberus, but though they had the advantage of numbers the Underworld Hound was nearly twice as large and ended up taking most of them down violently, usually by their throats. As Pandora's box spilled out more creatures of both mythical and edible verities to combat the Tikbalang and skeleton reinforcements, her army found itself suddenly flanked from behind, as scattered packs of Ammits raced into the battle, their crocodile jaws clamping shut around the faces of various Manotaurs.

"It is a glorious sight, is it not?" Lord Pain said, sounding almost choked-up at the beauty of it all. He then refocused himself. "Young master, as soon as you are able to do so, revert back to your ghostly form. It will help to speed your recovery."

Manny groaned on the ground, feeling the press of his broken ribs as he breathed. "What are you going to-?"

"I would very much like to aid you to safety, young master." Lord Pain said. "But first there is the matter here I must see to. These brutes have dared to lay harm upon you, my master's child. To let them off without any immediate punishment would be and insult to both her and you."

The Manotaurs all around them laughed uproariously, save for Biceptor, whom stared with interest at Lord Pain. Manny, lifting his head up as much as he could, said "No! Charles! You can't! They'll…they'll…and you…" What was he to say? What did he want to say? That his mother's loyal servant couldn't beat them? Or why he was so afraid of Charles getting beaten? Simply put, if Lord Pain fell, then there'd be no one who'd be able to get him away from the Manotaurs. Nothing to stop them from…what they'd been about to do to him. "Charles…let's…let's just get out of here. Maybe…maybe someone else can fight them…"

As he laid looking at Lord Pain's back, Manny found his eyes slowly moving away from the man and back down to the ground, guilt and shame slowly overcoming him as the servant said nothing back.

"…You are not a coward for being afraid, young master." Lord Pain finally spoke, causing Manny some surprise. "You have fought and you have lost. Your great confidence is not doubt shattered along with your bones. It is the pain all warriors must eventually face. That is what you wish to be, yes? A great warrior?"

Manny didn't say anything back, his ears growing slightly red though.

For a second, Manny could almost swear Lord Pain smiled at him. "Allow me to allay your fears, young master, and show you the power you will easy surpass one day, for I am but your family's humble servant and you my superior."

Lord Pain then turned towards Biceptor. "Would you be so kind as to back away a tad? I wish to do battle with you but would prefer the young master not be caught in the way."

The surrounding Manotaurs' laughter grew even louder, it clear that the lanky blue knight before them was serious about fighting their leader. It was only when Biceptor held out his arm that they swiftly silenced themselves.

"You seek to fight me, thin man?" Biceptor asked, his tone a bit amused.

"In truth I seek merely to kill you. Battle is simply to most direct path to that." Lord Pain said evenly.

Biceptor gave a chuckle. "Well, your confidence and directness is certainly to be respected. But if I am to know if you are truly a worthy rival, I must first ask you this: Thin man, what do you think of the 80's Icelandic pop band BABBA?"

"Wait, are we talking pre or post _Disco Girl_?" Pain asked.

Biceptor let of a roar of madness and rage unlike anything Manny had ever heard before. Without even a second of hesitation the man-bull threw his fist down upon Lord Pain. The knight dodged out of its way, causing the fist to strike the ground; the shock toppling over all the other Manotaurs and giving Manny enough of a panicked jolt to send him back into his ghost form. Though his other form lessened the pain he was feeling, Manny was still in too sorry of shape to aid Lord Pain, something that cased him great worry as the knight threw up his shield to protect himself, the metal meeting Biceptor's other fist and sending Charles flying back.

His reflexes almost catlike, Lord Pain spun from his hands back to his feet as Biceptor charged him horns first, the knight feeling more comfortable now that there was some distance between their fight and Manny. The man-bull's horn penetrated clean through Pain's shield, lining up alongside the indentation his knuckles had created seconds ago. Using the shield to hold himself close to the monster but not directly in his reach, Pain cracked his cudgel against Biceptor's face and chest, put all his might into each blow. The blows to his head seemed to merely annoy Biceptor and he tried swatting him away, forcing Pain to back away.

His shield lost to him for the moment, Pain used the distance now gained to his advantage, pulling out his crossbow from behind his belt and opening fire on the beast. The arrows struck Biceptor's wide frame but none penetrated the skin. In fact their greatest effect was simply getting caught in his beard.

Biceptor laughed proudly. "You can't hurt me with that." He stated as he ripped the shield off his horn, tossing the torn metal to the side.

"I disagree." Pain said simply before firing off two more arrow. Biceptor was nearly tempted to let them hit him just to show off, but at the last second he realized where Pain had aimed and quickly stopped the arrows with his hands, just inches away from his face.

"Well, well. It would seem someone's eyes are not as invincible as the rest of him." Pain said, gesturing with his cudgel.

Crushing the small arrows in his fist, Biceptor snapped "Yeah? Big deal! Like your eyes are gonna be much tougher when I get to you!"

"Oh, you'll find it is a very big deal." Pain retorted. "You see, in my service to the master, I've been tasked with eliminating a great number of creatures over the years, and you would be surprised how many shared weaknesses these creatures had amongst them. Weaknesses that were mine to exploit." Pain then gave a smirk not common to him. "Allow me to show you." He said before charging forward at Biceptor.

Pain fired his arrows continuously as he ran, forcing Biceptor to block his eyes to protect them. Such a simple trick giving him the advantage, Pain leapt, dropping his cudgel and crossbow, and grabbed hold of two of the many arrows embedded in the monster's beard. Feeling the weight of another on him, Biceptor moved his arms to wrap around Pain in an attempt to crush the knight's body. But too late was this move, as Pain had gotten his arms out of the way just in time and proceeded to stab the two arrowheads into Biceptor's ears.

It was a noise so different from any Biceptor had made before that both Manny and the Manotaurs were taken aback in shock by its sound. Biceptor was shrieking in pain, dropping Charles from his hold as blood spurted from his ears.

"Example one: ears and noses are simply openings to more vulnerable parts of the body." Lord Pain stated as the man-bull clutched the sides of his head, ripping the arrows away to try and make the pain stop. Picking up his cudgel from the ground, Charles went on. "If you can still hear me, allow me to continue. Example two: for a beast of your size, being able to support your weight is vital!"

Lord Pain cracked the back of Biceptor's knee with his weapon, causing the Manotaur to scream once again and fall to his knee without any choice. Swinging his wide arms in desperation, Biceptor missed again and again, Pain striking at his other knee just as he did to the first. As Biceptor fell to that as well, Pain picked up his discarded shield, a large tear running from the center of the metal through its top, but still adequate enough to suit his needs.

"Example three, as we have established: the eyes." He said, swinging the edge of the shield across them the both of them on Biceptor's face. Blood now truly erupted from his features, his palms staining red as they reflexively reached up towards his severed eyes.

His cries echoing throughout the already chaotic battlefield, Biceptor fought like the wounded animal he was, lashing out blindly again Lord Pain, whom simply sidestepped all of his obvious attacks. When his arm still struck against nothing within its limited range, Biceptor changed his assault, snorting and unleashing the blaze of fire from his nostrils at any that happened to be in front of him. But as though Lord Pain was waiting for this, the instant the flame started spewing Pain rushed him with the shield and slammed it to Biceptor's snout. There was the sickening sound of breaking cartilage and judging by the smoke that emitted from within the Manotaur's now misshapen nostrils, a broken nose wasn't the only thing causing his latest agony.

"Example four: things that breath fire tend not to enjoy having it forced back in." Pain continued, striking Biceptor across the face with his cudgel, the opening making his attack much more effective than before.

As blood dripped from his features onto the ground as he was forced to use his arms to keep himself propped up, Biceptor's cries were a mixture of anger and wet sobs. "You-! You are no MAN!" He yelled, though unable to know which direction Lord Pain stood relative to his blind and deafened form. "There is no honor in winning like you do! No man cheats like you!"

Seeming to ignore him, Pain took hold of his black and red cape and leapt over the tall creature's body, draping it over Biceptor's face and tightening it well to cut off the man-bull's air as he stood against the beast's back. Biceptor's hands instantly reached up to try and grab the cape off his face, but Pain pulled back even tighter to pull Biceptor's head further back with him.

When he finally heard Biceptor's chokes as the beast started to suffocate, Pain said "You're quite right. I am no man." He then smashed his cudgel again against Biceptor's face from behind his cape, before repeating this same blow again and again; a red stain starting to soak through the black of the fabric with each strike. Out of the corner of his helmet Pain could see the beast's fellow Manotaurs openly wince with each crack of the weapon against their leader's skull. "What I am is a tool." CRACK! "A tool in service to my master. A master whom cares little for method, only results." CRACK! "And if I am to be of any use to my great queen," CRACK! "Then neither must I."

One final swing. Biceptor's body gave a sudden spasm and the beast's barrel-chested form fell forward to the ground with a booming thud.

The other Manotaurs stared in total shock as Lord Pain pulled his cape out from under Biceptor's corpse. Even Manny, like them, felt too scared to make a single bit of noise and attract the knight's now free attention.

"Now then," Lord Pain broke the silence, causing their backs to suddenly stiffen. The knight turned towards them all, the redness splashed against half the blue on him and still dripping from his cudgel. "Who wishes to learn from me next?"

To their credit, they stayed longer than Pain expected them to. It was not that very second but rather five later that the four beasts turned and ran off to the rest of the battle, rather willing to face any other danger of the warzone than the one right behind them.

Clipping his weapon back to his belt, Lord Pain quickly hurried over to Manny, still laying shocked as could be on the ground. "Please, allow me to help you up, young master. Your injuries should have healed themselves enough so that I may move you safely."

Having been too wrapped up in the battle, Manny didn't even notice that Pain was right until he helped Manny up to his feet and Manny realized he wasn't feeling the tightness of his ribs anymore. After Pain told him to make sure he remained focused enough so that his arm wouldn't go phasing through him, Manny looked at the knight in awe as they hobbled away. "Charles…that…that was incredible!"

Lord Pain gave a modest chuckle. "You honor me with your praise, young master. But to take care not to forget what I said. Young you may be, there is no doubt in my mind that your own strength will be far greater than that of what I just showed."

"How can you be so sure? Biceptor pretty much just wiped the floor with me…just like those guys in Hela's realm." Manny said sadly.

"Because of a simple basic fact, young master." Pain said reassuringly. "I am the servant and you are one of my masters, and as anyone who knows me will tell you, I do not serve weak masters."

Lord Pain gave him a smile and though he couldn't help it, one slowly broke across Manny's face as well, not quite believing what the knight carrying him said, but grateful for it regardless.

* * *

As she stayed seated on her black-winged horse high above the battlefield, it was painfully clear to Pandora that things were not going in her favor. Though she still had an infinite number of other horrors to unleash from her box, they were not coming out fast enough to deal with Mandy's own swarming forces. The frogs, Mantaurs, and Gorgons were being quickly killed off by superior tactics and more than once her harpies had to come to her aid as she started getting attacked from the sky by these large eagle sized, skull-headed birds that she thought had flames for feathers but turned out to be trails of thick ash and dust (appropriate given the name Xineohps or Dust Birds).

"Come on, Lantern, where are you?" Pandora muttered in stress as she shook another Kraken out from the box (even with its large size and many tentacles she knew its use so far from water was very limited). "I can't pull off the plan just on my own. I need your-!"

A shot rang out across the fields and a bullet was sent through her steed's heart and grazing her own shoulder. A quick swear from the pain followed and both were sent falling miles down towards the ground, her horse mercifully killed instantly from the shot and the flames that made its wings going out just as quick.

It was a horrible crunching noise when the impact was made, the only thing saving Pandora from dying was her horse taking most of the impact for her and the continuous blood rain having softened the ground slightly. Shaking off what she was sure was nearly a concussion, Pandora looked around the battlefield she was now a part of, searching both high and look through the birds and warring bullmen and horsemen for the one that shot her down.

To her horror, she didn't have to look far. Her long blond hair was the only bit of bright color on the battlefield that wasn't from fire or a frog corpse. It was unnatural, Pandora couldn't help but think as the Queen of Death walked calmly towards her, not in the least bit fazed or even slowed down by the hundreds of monsters killing each other all around her. Sure, she had her long sniper rifle in hand but she wasn't using it. Mandy wasn't even bothering to aim it at anything now that Pandora was down here with her, simply carrying the weapon with its smoking barrel pointed up as she made her way across the bloody fields.

To Pandora's momentary relief she saw that two Manotaurs had spotted the queen and, with excitement in their eyes, rushed to take her down. It was just seconds before their large fists would have connected with the back of her head, Mandy not even bothering to turn around as she heard them coming. But as Pandora saw also, she didn't need to, as a glint of light flashed behind the queen and the Manotaurs found their heads cut so cleanly from their necks that it wasn't even until they hit the ground that the blood started to flow.

He may as well have been her shadow, given how well he was hidden in its darkness. But as Mandy got closer, Pandora could start to slowly make out the thin robed figure of Grim, protecting her from behind.

"Why do I have to be out here again?" He grumbled at his wife, his voice full of exasperation but not a trace of fear.

"Because the last time we killed an invading force, you left those assholes to haunt our front yard for weeks before you finally did something about them." Mandy said. "This time I'm not giving you the option to put it off for so long."

"It ain't like I don't already have enough souls to deal with during my actual working hours, woman. Can't blame me fer putting that nightmare of a paperwork pile before these idiots who've already done what they could to eat up our free time." Grim snipped, though it was clear to him he wasn't going to win over his wife on this.

Finally, their little trek ended and he and Mandy were now face to face with Pandora, whom was still sitting flat on the ground as she looked up nervously at the two of them, the girl seeming to have a moment of awkward realization how tall Mandy had become since they last met.

"Uh…h-hey, Mandy." Pandora said with a nervous laugh as she clutched her box defensively in front of her.

"Hey." Mandy replied before immediately pulling out her pistol and shooting Pandora in the head, causing the girl to instantly topple over backwards, the box flipping out of her hands but landing behind her on its base, still wide open.

After a moment Mandy then looked questionably over to Grim. "…You're not going to make the cliché comment about how easy that was?" She asked him.

"She's not dead, if that's what you're asking." Grim replied simply, not even looking at the body.

Mandy raised an eyebrow at this but pointed her gun again and shot Pandora five times more.

"She's still not dead." Grim said calmly. "I think she's playing possum. I don't know why, since I'm right here, but there you go."

Grim's head then made a sudden turn to the area above Pandora. Mandy immediately recognized the sight of her husband seeing something she couldn't and quickly shoved them both out of the way. A sharp crack appeared in the ground where both had stood. Color started to spread upwards from this breakage and soon to form of a large golden spear came into vision. From the weapon its wielder came out of invisibility as well, revealing the black and gold clad form of a giant blue woman, easily twice as tall as either of the rulers, whom were both bathed in the glow of the purple fire blazing out from the plume of her centurion helmet. Three of her four arms pulled the gigantic spear out of the ground while her fourth stayed touching Pandora's body, only now taking away the intangibility she'd been giving her.

Pandora, giving a low giddy cackle as she rose back up from the ground and with nary a bullet wound on her, gave thanks to her ghostly savior as the giant woman picked up and returned the box to her, feeling much more confident now that both rulers had their attentions focused elsewhere.

"So that's where she's been during all this." Mandy said, looking up at the ghost's high figure. "You made her your slave."

"It only seemed appropriate." Pandora shrugged, petting the box in her grasp. "You can only imagine how furious I was when I was freed from the box and learned that you not only let its powers go to waste but that you stole MY NAME to create this…thing! …To guard it because you couldn't be bothered to." She gestured bitterly at the ghost, whom stood expressionless as she stood guard over the small girl. "Pandora's Ghost. Bet you got a real laugh out of that. Trying to make everyone forget about me."

"It wasn't really that hard." Mandy said. "You don't tend to leave much of an impression. I'm pretty sure even the gods who tricked you into opening the box the first time have forgotten all about you by now."

Pandora's vengeful glare sharpened and the ghost, as if channeling her master's emotion, tightened her grip on her spear. Grim, turning to his wife, said "Mandy, is it really a good idea to antagonize them when we're less than ten feet away from a sixteen-foot spear?"

"I don't see why not." Mandy replied simply, not taking her eyes off either of the women. "We know they're not a threat."

"Not a threat? Not a threat?!" Pandora yelled angrily. "I escaped from the prison you placed me in! I turned your own hand-made guardian of my box against you! I've unleashed all the evils of the world right here upon your doorstep and you dare call me not a threat?!"

It was so sudden, but if Pandora didn't know any better, she could have sworn the temperature dropped a few degrees as soon as Mandy's red eyes cast themselves directly upon her. "Pandora…do you even realize why I came down here?" Mandy asked slowly.

Pandora realized her hands were starting to sweat against the box's metal. "To…to try and kill me! To try and end the horror's I've summoned against you!"

"Wrong." Mandy stated, in such a sharp way that Pandora gave a sudden flinch. "I came down here to see why you weren't already dead, because I knew you were too weak to survive out here so long on your own, even with your box's help."

"Weak? I'm not we-"

"Shut up." Mandy instantly silenced her. "I had Grim explain it to me years ago how it worked. Unlike my immortality, yours only applies to your lifespan. You don't ever age, but one well-placed bullet to the head and…" Mandy placed the barrel of her gun up to her temple and acted out pulling the trigger. "So you stayed as far above the actual battle as you could, keeping your intangible little slave glued to your side because you knew how easy it'd be to kill you without her."

Pandora's legs gave a small wobble. "Sh-shut up." She quivered.

"Do you know how much of an advantage there is in an invisible soldier who can't be touched during a chaotic battlefield?" Mandy asked. "Sure, we'd have only noticed her eventually but only after she'd carved through enough of our troops to make us realize something was out there. But no. You were too afraid to even consider that. Your life and safety more important to you than your ill-thought out revenge, if you can even call it that at this point."

"Shut up!" Pandora screamed.

Mandy then pointed the gun right back at Pandora, causing the girl to stiffen. "By the way, do you know why we had your box in my vault, even after creating her?" She gestured at the giant woman, whom moved to place herself defensively between the queen and Pandora. "It's because after we locked you away, we chucked it into the Ghost Zone for her to look after there. Figured that was safe enough. But we were proved wrong after she couldn't even keep it away from the Box Ghost of all people. So…knowing that…how well do you think she's going to do at keeping you away from me?"

Pandora was now very visibly sweating from the majority of her features. "G-get them!" She yelled at the ghost.

At her command, Pandora's Ghost lunged forward. Mandy opened fire with a series of rapid shots, all aimed at Pandora. Spinning her spear like a windmill in her arms, the Greek ghost blocked all the green tinted bullets, the contact they were making on her unearthly weapon clearly showing that Mandy had changed her ammo while they were talking. Once her clip was empty, Mandy ditched the weapon and moved back to her sniper rifle, firing the instant her eye lined up with the scope. The bullet sailed through Pandora's Ghost's defenses and shot through her dress and leg. Grimacing in the pain, the ghost halted the spin of her spear to try and balance herself. The moment she did her weapon was suddenly cut into three separate pieces, courtesy of Grim's Z-cut with his scythe. Her weapon now nothing but a glorified knife, the ghost threw it to the side and opted instead to unleash a blue tinted ecto-blast from each of her hands, though those aimed directly at Grim and Mandy were easily blocked by the scythe's blade.

"Just killed her already, Bonehead." Mandy said as she tried to get a clear shot at Pandora.

"Come on, you know how proud I was when I finished making her." Grim snipped, keeping the scythe held up. "If I can end this without cutting her head off, I'm certainly going to try."

Mandy rolled her eyes and placed them back into the scope, seeing Pandora cowering behind her ghost and violently shaking the box.

"Come on, come on!" She yelled at the box as it spit out more sandwiches and flying eyeballs. "I need something bigger! Come ON!"

She finally gave the box a good kick and a massive black shape spat out of it. It landed with an earth-quaking tremor right behind the lot of them, its large black dragon-like body towering over them all. The moment Pandora set her eyes upon its ten long slender and snaking heads as they in turn gazed down upon her, the immortal girl gave a mad laugh of relief.

"Not a threat, am I, Mandy?" Pandora yelled out, her voice clearly heard now as the majority of the battlefield had halted themselves when the serpent beast had appeared. Even Pandora's ghost slave had stopped her assault to look upwards with Grim and Mandy, with Manny even stopping his and Pain's walk as they looked back to it from the castle's base. "Well behold then! The most feared creature in all of Ancient Greece, that even nearly fell the great Hercules: The Hydra! Now under my command! Watch in horror as its many heads devour your entire army, ready and waiting to spawn forth even more, should any of them be foolish enough to think they can kill it! On this day, Mandy, you meet your end! On this day, I, Pandora, claim vict-!"

All ten heads of the Hydra roared at once as an explosion of green light erupted through its chest. As the beast started to fall, Mandy grabbed Grim and threw his light body over her shoulder, ripping open a portal with his scythe as she ran through it. Pandora's Ghost did about the same, grabbing her stunned master and flying her away to safety.

The Hydra's body hit the ground limply, its fall sending a shockwave over the battlefield and its many inhabitants; the wind rushing past soldiers and monsters alike as the ten ship-sized heads smacked bluntly against the ground.

Pandora's Ghost finally set the human Pandora back down, just out of reach of the Hydra's pooling acidic blood. Pandora's feet touched the ground but she fell instantly to her knees. "…Goddammit."

Mandy and Grim emerged from their scythe portal on the other side of the creature's body, Grim looking indigently at his wife as she set him back down. Roughly taking back his weapon as she handed it back to him, the pair both looked upwards at the sky where the blast had come from, neither surprised by what they saw.

"Oh good, now he's here." Grim muttered.

His cape whipping in the breeze, Dan floated above the battlefield, his hands still emitting green smoke. "Well, you certainly called when you said there was going to be an attack, kid." He remarked to Daniela, whom floated close behind him. Though she did not stay there long as she quickly flew down towards Grim and Mandy the moment she spotted them.

"Is that…Daniela?" Manny squinted as he watched her fly from the distance. "Oh my god, what happened to her?!" He exclaimed, nearly leaping up of Lord Pain's support as he could see the tears and blood scattered about on her clothes.

Daniela practically tackled Mandy as she flew into her, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Mother!" She sobbed into Mandy's chest, shaking badly and holding onto her tightly.

"Daniela?" Mandy said, looking at her with a very surprised and slightly uncomfortable expression, though Grim gave her credit as Mandy didn't push her away and instead gently rubbed her daughter's back. "Daniela, calm down. What happened? Where's Junior?"

Daniela seemed to cry even harder. "We…we were attacked in Aku City! I-I-I think he's dead!"

Mandy and Grim both looked at her, eyes wide in shock, though the moment was ruined when Dan shouted from overhead "No, he's not!"

"Who asked you?" Mandy yelled up at him.

"You shut up! I've got a bone to pick with you!" Dan snapped back, pointing at her. "What the hell's the big idea telling MY kids that Walker is their father?!"

Daniela stopped crying, blinking her eyes against her mother's dress in confusion. Mandy, looking slightly enraged, opened her mouth to say something back but then stopped herself, turning her head to Grim. "…Did we ever tell them Walker was their father?" She asked him, genuinely curious.

"No, but now that I think of it, I'm surprised we didn't." Grim said.

Dan, not seeming to have heard what they said, just kept shouting. "I mean, Skulker I could understand. Plasmius. Maybe even Johnny 13. But Walker?! Freaking Walker?!"

"Why is that the deal breaker for him?" Grim wondered aloud.

Daniela lifted her head up away from her mother, looking back up at Dan. "Wait…you're our real father?" She asked.

"WE HAVE PRACTICALLY THE SAME FUCKING NAME!"

"Hey! Don't you yell at her!" Grim yelled up at him.

As Manny listened from the distance to the argument between his family and this new arrival, he said to Pain "So…that guy is mine and Daniela's father?"

"Indeed, young master." Pain replied simply. "Seems as good a time as any for you to find out."

Manny stared at the ranting flaming haired individual in silence for a moment. "…Not quite as dramatic as I always thought it'd be." He commented.

"Oh, just wait until you get to know him, sir." Pain said bitterly. "Left a rather dramatic mess in my kitchen the last time he was here. Made sure I knew about it, too."

Pandora stayed knelling where she was, completely bewildered as she looked back and forth between the arguing parents, her and her box seeming completely forgotten about. It wasn't until Pandora's Ghost tapped her on the shoulder that her attention was brought back to reality. The ghost pointed one of her many arms as a cloud of dust approaching closer and closer to them. Squinting her eyes, her body felt a flush of relief as she recognized the orange mass roaring across the wasteland and creating the cloud with its speed.

Once it was close enough, the shape leapt up from the ground, sailing high through the air before landing dramatically atop the corpse of the fallen Hydra for all to see him.

"Finally! I've arrived!" Lantern bellowed excitedly, his roller blades clicking back into his feet and his engines quieting down. "Sorry I'm late, Pandora." He called out to her. "Drax's portal maker shortened the distance but I couldn't use it until I was out of Aku City. Then I had to drive myself here the rest of the way and as you've noticed, I am very heavy, so it took a while. So…what'd I miss?"

Pandora simply pointed past him, her face just giving a variety of dumbfounded expressions. Turning around, Lantern gained the same expression as his partner. By the look of it, every single troop of Castle Grimskull's army and even still living monster spawned from Pandora's box had stopped their fighting, some even standing side by side or holding each other up to get a better look, as they all listened intently to the argument between Dan and Grim and Mandy. The blood rain had even let up, as the weather itself seemed to want to listen in on this.

"If I recall correctly, I told you flat out that you weren't allowed back near the castle once we were done, something you had no problem with." Mandy pointed out sharply.

"At the time I thought you were going to raise them to be bloodthirsty little monsters like their brother! Or at least thought that you were going to give them higher inspirational figures than Walker!" Dan yelled.

"One, we didn't say anythin' about Walker to dem." Grim scowled. "Two, you don't get to complain about how yer kids turned up when you were all too happy to let someone else raise them."

"This is between me and her, Bonehead!"

"Only I get to call him Bonehead, Phantom." Mandy warned sharply, causing Grim some flattered surprise. "And as I believe I just said, you're not allowed in my land anymore. So I suggest you get going before I have my forces focus on you as well."

"Uhhhh…" Lantern said, looking back and forth as he tried to cut in.

"I'm not going anywhere until I'm sure you people aren't wasting my kids' potential!" Dan yelled defiantly. "I mean, for god's sake, Daniela, how many people have you killed while living under your mother?"

"I…um…I haven't really killed anything." Daniela answered hesitantly. "…Unless you count the dead of Hela's realm…"

"You see what I mean?!" Dan exclaimed. "I went on my first mass murder when I was only fourteen and I didn't know crap about all this Underworld stuff."

"I killed three harpies and some frogs." Manny called out to them. "Does that count?"

"Who the hell are you?" Dan asked, only now noticing him.

"Manny." He answered.

"You're Manny?" Dan said, a slightly more calm tone coming to his voice, though not by much. "…You're skinnier than I thought you'd be." He commented as he looked him over. "Though I suppose that beats taking from my dad's side of the family."

"Uhhh…hello?" Lantern said, only to be ignored again.

"How we choose ta raise our kids is our business and ours alone, Phantom." Grim stated.

Dan gave a loud and dismissive scoff. "Your kids?" He laughed. "Last I checked, the closest you've ever come to putting a baby in her was turning Junior into a Reaper after some other guy knocked her up like I did. Good thing too because Junior sure didn't get any of his ass-kicking ability from your."

Grim gave a low grumble of a series of swears as he pointed the end of his scythe up at Dan, causing it to glow purple.

"Father, wait!" Daniela moved to stop him. "We need him to help us."

"I sincerely doubt dat." Grim told her.

"Back in Aku City, Junior and I learned that there is a plot against our family." She rapidly explained. "A robot named Lantern…another Reaper named Morg…and more than likely this monstrous army…they're all a part of it. Junior, before he was…you know…in Aku City, believed there were even more players at work in this."

Mandy grabbed her daughter's shoulder. "Hold on, did you say Morg?"

"Junior's not dead." Dan repeated in irritation. "There's a reason I want to you both to be more like him, you know. He's not dead."

"Yes, he is!" Lantern finally found a place to speak up. "I was there! I was the one to do it-"

"SHUT UP!" Dan, Mandy, and Grim all yelled at once at the orange robot before going back to arguing with each other.

Stunned, Lantern turned his head over to Pandora. "…Have they been like this all day?"

"No, but I'm surprised I'm feeling worse than when they were trying to shoot me through the head earlier." She breathed.

Looking back at the bickering groups for a moment, Lantern said "Well then, I suppose it's time for Plan B."

Pandora jerked her head up at him. "Lantern…a-are you sure about this?"

"You want their attention, don't you?" The robot asked glaringly.

"It's just…if we do this…you know there's no way of taking it back." She tentatively reminded him.

"The same could be said for when we betrayed the others by coming here against orders." Lantern pointed out. "So you have to ask yourself what's more important: your safety? Or your revenge?"

Lantern couldn't have known how much his words echoed Mandy's own but it helped him regardless. Pandora looked at the box in her hands, her brow slowly sharpening as every hateful thought she'd had about the woman for the last 30+ years bubbled up to the surface.

Pandora set the box down on the ground and took a few steps back away from it. "Do it." She ordered Lantern.

Without any hesitation Lantern fired his energy blast directly at the box, the object's loud explosion as it blew apart finally regaining everyone's attention.

Smoke stretched skyward from where the box had been destroyed, but inside the plume several dark shapes could be seen moving around inside. All the monsters that'd spawned forth from the box started to have their bodies fade away in the same kind of smoke, Lantern falling to the ground as the body of the Hydra beneath him transformed and moved to join the others within growing the black cloud. All the blood that'd fallen upon the battlefield started to move on its own, flowing like scarlet streams across the wasteland floor and leaving not a single drop behind as it stretched up into the smoke, giving shape to something inside.

From inside the smokestack, a pair of massive bright yellow eyes opened up near the top.

"Ohhh, that's not good." Grim took a step back, having a good idea about what was about to happen.

The smoke stretched out to the sides like limbs, compacting itself until they created a solid form. From the darkness emerged a creature with sickly green skin, its new revived body easily bigger than the mountains that surrounded the Grim family's castle. It stood atop two long viper tails that emanated out from its waist, with six massive leathery bat wings spreading out from its back kicking up roaring sandstorms across the battlefield. Worse yet of the monster's features were its hands. Each of its mile-long fingers, save for its thumbs, were the long and twisting body of another dragon, each head snapping and drooling hungrily over the Tikbalang and skeleton feast before their many eyes.

Floating around the monster's giant goblin-like head, as flame emerged from its nostrils to light them up, were seven shifting shadows, winding their way around the giant's head as they cackled like maniacs.

"Of all the stories created about my box, none beat the one that's true, Mandy." Pandora stated proudly as her ghost slave and Lantern protected her from the monster's storms. "The box was created by the gods for one true reason, to contain the evils of mankind until they chose to ever release them. It wasn't until after they tricked me into opening it that they truly realized how dangerous what they were messing with was, and so they decided to place a safeguard. Along with cursing me to never be able to open it again until recently, Zeus placed a monster so horrible within the box itself so that no one would ever dare open it again, at least not without immediately shutting it the moment they realized what they'd freed. The monster that is this! Son of Gaia and fathered by Tartarus! The creator of every creature your army has struggled against this day! Typhon, the father of all monsters!"

Typhon's roar echoed throughout the Domain of Death, sounding unnervingly like the eruption of a volcano.

"Oh? And the best part?" Pandora said, her voice practically giddy. "He's not even the worst thing you get to fight now. They are!"

Pandora pointed up towards the seven shadows, which were now flying across the battlefield, zagging their way between the troops of Grimskull's army as their own semi-corporeal bodies took shape.

One was a humanoid looking squid, lazily playing its clarinet and horribly off-key.

One was a large red crab, holding sacks full of money in its claws and laughing like old-timey sailor.

One was a large blond man, whose plaid vest and white shirt did nothing to hide his massive belly, jiggling as he continually stuffed an endless about of burgers and hotdogs into his face.

One was a little redheaded girl, very smugly showing off her sash that read _Little Miss Scurvy_.

One was a man with glasses and a white dress shirt with numerous pens in the pocket, looking very much like the stereotypical timid nerd, though the constant stream of raging curse words and middle fingers to the troops suggested he was anything but.

And the last two, to Grim and Mandy's great shock as the shadows took form, looked exactly like the eleven and ten year versions of Junior and Minnie, though the latter wearing a very skimpy red and black Nergal outfit that'd be more appropriate for her mother than her.

"Interesting forms they've chosen this time." Pandora commented with a chuckle. "Grim family, meet the evils of mankind. Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath, Envy, and Lust! The seven deadly sins!"

 **Chapter End**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** So, a bit of background on this chapter. Clear I have been away from this story for a while, and even longer when I decided I wanted to try and get this story on a more constant upload schedule. About one a week or every two weeks, depending on how long the chapter in question is. And I decided to start that off by not uploading this chapter until I had the chapter after finished. That way I can guarantee at least one for next week, to try and make up for how long I've been away. Hopefully my plan works out and regardless I want to thank everyone who is still reading my stories, as your support and feedback really does mean a lot to me. Thank you.

Now there are references galore in this chapter, from evil Kermits to the Harpie Lady Sisters from Yu-Gi-Oh! to the Manotaurs from Gravity Falls. Not to mention a whole load of stuff from Greek Mythology (I have a fondness for Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythologies), which is where the original Pandora's Box story comes from. The appearances of the Seven Deadly Sins are actually from a page of the Grim Tales comic, because I thought they'd be an interesting enemy for the family to face (the look of each Sin depends on the era they're awakened in, so the looks they have now are just looks they find appropriate for their new era).

The Pandora's Ghost character some may recognize as the Pandora from the Danny Phantom episode "Boxed Up Fury". Since I can't have two Pandora's running around, I decided to have the Pandora from Billy and Mandy as the real one and the ghost Pandora be something Mandy had Grim create to keep the box safe, naming her Pandora's Ghost as a final way of mocking Pandora herself. Though because the ghost once failed to keep it away from the Box Ghost, Mandy had the box moved into her vault after she married Grim, with the Ghost still there as a hidden protection. I'll have more about her in later chapters.

Also, bit of a random question, but I'm thinking of making a Friday the 13th style slasher story using human versions of the Grim Tales characters. Is anybody interested in reading that or should I just keep focused on the stories I've got? I'd still do them all but they'd take turns on which gets updated.

* * *

 **QTP:** How is Pandora controlling Pandora's Ghost? What will happen now that Manny and Daniela know Dan is their real father? What havoc will the Seven Deadly Sins wreak now that they're free from the box? Where's Junior? Why is Dan so insistent that Junior's not dead? And why was Dan so offended his kids thought Warden Walker could be their father?


	11. Out-of-the-Box Vengeance Part 2

**Part 11: Out-of-the-Box Vengeance Part 2**

 **desdelor97:** Though it's the same as before, I still appreciate your encouragement. Thank you.

 **DPSS:**

1.) Surprisingly no, though that may come up with another well known ghost far later in the story (if I remember it).

2.) Junior certainly needs to help Daniela more but I can't see Dan having the patience to teach or train anyone, especially not after never bothering to pay any attention to their lives. Before he met Daniela Dan had no idea what the gender even was of his child with Mandy and before Daniela told him Dan didn't even know he'd had twins with her.

3.) Fair enough.

4.) Well, this chapter should probably help with that.

5.) True that.

6.) Truth be told, despite Dan's claims, I think he'd have hated his kids thinking their father was anyone but him, no matter who they were, but you do bring up some interesting points about why he'd hate Walker in particular.

 **nightmaster000:** I should have more about Grim and Pandora's Ghost's relationship in the chapter after next, as I don't want to keep doing what I've been doing, where I introduce a character and then kill them off, like with Nigel and Django. And I'm glad you liked Dan's reaction. While he knows how to be subtle, he hasn't needed to be in quite some time and especially not when he's mad. Final note, while you're right about Pride having later regrets about her new form, Mandy might be a little too busy in this chapter to deal with her.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

 _Junior shifted slightly in his seat upon his iron throne, his demeanor calm but inside a bit restless._

" _ **Come take a walk with me, Daniela."**_ _He said as he stood up, a complacent yet disturbing echo following behind his every word._

" _Y-yes. Of course, m-my lord." Daniela stuttered quickly as she stood up from where she'd lain at his feet, his words having not been needed as she had no choice in the matter. The leash attached around her neck was connected to his waist. Anywhere he goes she must follow, and Junior knew she wasn't foolish enough to break the bond against his wishes._

 _Daniela's bare human feet treaded carefully against the stone floor, making sure to follow close behind Junior's tall figure as the flames that decorated his throne room moved out of his way on their own before returning back to place once he was past._

" _ **Are you cold, Daniela?"**_ _Junior asked coolly, not even stopping or turning around to look at her._

" _No, my lord. I am fine." She replied quickly, not having realized how defensively she had been holding herself as they walked and forced herself to put her arms down away from her chest._

 _Junior gave a chuckle, though there seemed to be little true mirth in it._ _ **"I'm glad. I realize that outfit is not exactly designed for practicality. I should know, I gave it to you. But I'd hate to think you were suffering at all in it, especially not when I gain so much pleasure from it."**_

 _Daniela shifted uncomfortably in the loose, cleavage exposing red and black bra around her chest, though she hoped he did not notice. "I love it, my lord." She said as each of her steps brushed the black loincloth barely covering her bare legs. "I've…I've been told it really brings out the color of my eyes, especially in ghost form."_

 _To her relief Junior did find some amusement in her words._ _ **"Well, I'm glad someone appreciates my efforts around here."**_ _He commented as they walked through one of the windowless skyways of the castle, hearing the many screams of agony from far down below outside._ _ **"Hmm…still no word on Minnie, it would seem."**_ _He then added, seemingly out of nowhere._

" _I'm sure our…_ _your_ _troops will find her, my lord." Daniela said, making sure to instantly correct herself._

" _ **Oh, Daniela…I have no doubt about that. But still, the longer she continues to escape my grasp is the longer I have to wait to finally claim our dear sister as mine and mine alone, as I should have done years ago. And you know how much I hate to be kept waiting from the things I desire, as our brother and father of course learned when they tried to keep you from me."**_

" _They…they should not have stood against you, my lord." Daniela said timidly, her voice doing little to hide her fear, though that only seemed to improve Junior's mood further._

 _The two of them finally came to a stop at a large metal door, one which Junior was a frequent visitor to._ _ **"I do hope that when Minnie does finally arrive you will not become too jealous of her, my dear."**_

" _N-no! Of…of course not, my lord! I'm…I'm honored to receive any of the affection you choose to share with me. The nights you allow me to grace your bed. I…would never dare dream of seeking to control your desires or order you, my lord."_

 _Junior finally turned to face her, a smile spreading across his face that made Daniela even more hesitant to look him in the eye._ _ **"That's what I like to hear. And don't worry. After all we've been through, you will always be one of my favorites."**_

 _Daniela could feel his scorching red eyes almost burning a hole through her, as her own stayed cast towards the ground, not daring to look up. "Th-thank you, my lord."_

 _Junior grasped the door handle._ _ **"Not my most favorite though, of course."**_ _He commented as he opened it up._ _ **"No, no…that pleasure goes to…"**_

 _His eyes cast hungrily into the room. Inside were simply four damp and dripping grey brick walls, with a lone woman with long blond hair suspended in the air between them by the chains that cut harshly into her wrists and ankles. On her beautiful pale bare body there was not a single scratch or cut or bruise to take away from her perfection, though the enormous amount of dried blood decorating the floor suggested it was not for lack of trying._

" _ **Hello, mother."**_ _Junior greeted as he made his way into the room, Daniela following very unwillingly behind him._ _ **"How are we feeling today?"**_

 _Mandy made an inaudible mutter that neither could hear._

" _ **I'm sorry, what was that?"**_ _Junior asked playfully as his sharp metal finger carefully tilted her head up by her chin, revealing the sobs that flowed down the face of woman that'd never once shed a tear in her life before now._

" _Please…no more." She begged._

 _Junior gave a gasp of feigned surprise._ _ **"Please? Why…Mandy…if I didn't know better, I'd almost think you were starting to learn some proper manners. Well done, my good queen."**_

" _Please…" She begged again._

" _ **Shhh…"**_ _Junior said, brushing his knife-like fingers across her delicate skin, savoring the moment as he always did._ _ **"Now Mandy, you can't think that after all I did to claim you that I'd just let you go so easily. No, you…you are the most prized in my collection. One I won't be parting with anytime soon."**_

 _He moved his finger slowly across her cheek, knowing he'd broken through the skin once he heard her pained gasp. Finally taking his hand away, Junior admire the bloody cut he'd made before it almost instantly healed over._

" _ **You truly are the perfect mate for me."**_ _He commented._ _ **"Strong and beautiful, with a soul blacker than the depths of the Underworld, and able to patch yourself up from whatever I do to you, courtesy of my father. His final gift to me, one could see it. And your only true flaw? I'm not quite convinced you're truly mine yet, Mandy. I still have some doubts. So…"**_ _He cooed as his arm lit up bright with fire._ _ **"…we'll have to keep working on that until I'm sure."**_

 _Mandy's screams, Daniela's whimpers, and his own laughter that echoed continuously in Junior's ears._

Junior burst open his eyes with a jolt. At first he started to panic, blackness being all he could see. But then taking notice of the pressure squeezing his body, Junior recognized the feeling of jagged rock and broken metal against his Nergal skin.

Releasing his gathered ecto-energy into one solid burst, Junior blasted his way out of the rubble, his eyes almost immediately blinded by light as he gazed up once again at the open red skies of Aku City.

"All that…it was just a dream…a real dream, not a vision." He said aloud, trying to convince himself. "I know…I know I would never do any of that…"

Trying to push his dream as far away from his mind as possible, Junior tried to remember exactly what had happened before he was knocked out. The second he recalled his battle with Lantern he started frantically looking around, trying to find Daniela.

" _I can't sense her soul!"_ He thought in panic. _"No, calm down. I can't sense her soul but I also can't feel any last echoes of her life, so she wasn't killed. She must have gotten away. Thankfully."_

Junior looked around the pile of building rubble, spotting some skid marks along the road that were no doubt from Lantern after he left the scene, looking like they were leaving the city.

" _I can't sense her in Aku's Palace, so the only other place I can imagine she would have gone is home."_ Junior tried to think it out logically. _"But in the state she was in, how far could she have gotten?"_

His red wings spreading out from his back, his body having finished healing itself from the battle's damage, and Junior took flight.

As he moved quickly along the skyscraper tops, Junior looked down and spotted where he'd lost Dragonslayer during the fight, as well as two people attempting to pull it up out of the ground.

"Come! On! You! Stupid! Thing!" The bigger of the two grunted as he yanked up on the sword's long handle with his four arms, each limb looking like the rest of his patchwork body, seeming to belong to a different alien creature.

"I believe I have stated my objects to this, have I not, Kevin?" His tall Revonnahgander partner commented as he watched him struggle.

"Yeah, well, you object to a lot of things I do, Rook. I don't see why this should be any different." Kevin replied as he gave the broadsword another yank but it still didn't budge.

"You do realize that, had this sword ever come into contact with your present-day self during its lifetime, it would have potentially exploded you in totality as a result of a temporal paradox trying to correct itself." Rook pointed out.

"Come on, Rook, you don't really believe that sci-fi crap, do you?" Kevin said as he finally gave the sword a rest and looked at Rook with his three disproportioned eyes. "If I was really in such danger of that, why wouldn't your pal Paradox or that Clockwork guy just send me straight back through the same Ghost Zone portal that brought me to this time?"

"I'm just saying there are risks that are worth taking and risks that are not." Rook expressed calmly.

"We're bounty hunters and illegal interdimensional tour guides." Kevin pointed out.

"Given that those are how we currently make a living now that the Plumbers are gone, I'd deem them as risks understandably worth taking."

"Ahem." Junior coughed irritably, immediately catching both aliens' attentions as they didn't see him land during their conversation. Grabbing Dragonslayer's handle with one hand, Junior lifted the iron blade easy out of the ground, knocking the dust and dirt off its frame before bending his legs and taking off into the air once more.

Rook and Kevin both watched him leaving in stunned silence.

"…I loosened it for him."

"I'm sure you did, Kevin." Rook patted him on the back.

* * *

"OPEN FIRE!" Bellowed one of the Tikbalang captains, pointing his spear in command at the towering Typhon.

In massive continuous waves of energy spears and laser blasts struck Typhon's body, the skeleton knights' plasma rifles not having nearly enough range to hit the monster above his waist. Typhon's lower half lit up with blinding colors at the assault, which was the only reason the beast even noticed the army below, as their attacks most certainly didn't cause him any pain.

All eight of Typhon's dragon fingers pointed forward, an onslaught of flames erupting from each of their mouths as they scorched the battlefield. Grim slammed the staff of his scythe into the ground, projecting a wide purple circular dome over him, Mandy, and Daniela to protect them, while off where he was Manny turned himself and Lord Pain intangible seconds before the flames could have incinerated them.

The rest of their army did not fare as well. While the castle itself laid down covering fire from safely behind its force fields, there were very few soldiers that could be saved, their metal shields and armor being of little protection against the flames that once baked the depths Tartarus. Most of the skeletons and horsemen burst into ashes instantly, though those close enough to Cerberus were able to grab onto any one of the dog's three collars and hitch a ride, the speedy canine fast and agile enough to pounce around the flame.

With that one single strike from Typhon, more than three-quarters of Grimskull's defending army had been entirely wiped out, with the monster barely having even tried. His dragon heads took in their second breath, ready to do it all again.

But Typhon then unleashed a roar of pain from his main head, as green blasts of energy exploded rapidly across his reptilian chest, almost looking as if he'd been carpet-bombed.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Dan exclaimed excitedly as he flew through the smoke wafting off the monster's chest, happy to see that he'd just pissed it off.

Lightning burst out from Typhon's mouth, striking the castle's shields as Dan swerved to avoid it. The shield held but the castle was rocked to its very foundation, with the main control room nearly having a complete power outage from the impact. Lifting his house-sized hands up to grab his enemy, Typhon's dragon hands all snapped their jaws at Dan's path. Twice they would have had him, had Dan not split into two of himself both times before their teeth would have grabbed him.

Puffing up their chests dramatically, the four Dans roared with their Ghostly Wail, each of the rippling attacks convening in on the black mark across Typhon's chest Dan's earlier blasts had created. The Wails impacted and Typhon howled. Seconds later and large droplets of blood spattered against the ground from Typhon's chest, each creating a nearly tar-black pond upon landing.

"I…I don't believe it…" One of the remaining Tikbalang captains exclaimed, as if it were too good to be true. "The ghost's injured it!"

The captain was technically correct. The blood mark against Typhon's chest seemed to be about equivalent to what a normal person would receive if they accidentally cut themselves on a bit of jagged metal, barely reaching beneath the skin. But it was still far more than would have dared hope for when this monster appeared.

As he continued to watch Dan from where he was, the ghost blasting away at Typhon's body, Manny said "He…he really is strong isn't he?" Speaking but not turning towards Pain, as he couldn't take his captivated eyes away from the battle. "And he's my dad?"

"Indeed on both counts, young master." Pain said as he still had Manny's arm draped over his shoulder to support him. "Unfortunately I doubt that will make this battle any easier."

When it was clear Manny was lost on his meaning, Pain pointed over to the blood ponds, where several figures were starting to rise up from the inky blackness.

Pain was not the only one to notice this, as several of the queen's soldiers watched as pack of Orthrus dogs emerged from the pools, followed soon after by another bigger two-head beast, one head a lion and the other a goat, with a single snake for its tail instead of several for its mane like Orthrus. The more educated of the troops recognized it as a Chimera, though their attentions were soon taken away from that as well as another ten-headed Hydra emerged up from the blood as well, this one sadly without a hole blown through its chest by Dan.

"…Sir, it would seem the creature's blood spawns more monsters." Said one of the skeleton knights closest to the Tikbalang captain.

"Thank you, lieutenant obvious." The captain stated dryly.

"I thought it was captain, captain?"

The Tikbalang turned and glared at the knight, causing the skeleton cough awkwardly and take a step back.

The captain then turned to address the rest of his remaining troops. "Alright, men. It's clear we don't have the strength or numbers needed to take down the Typhon creature. But that does not make us useless! Far from it in fact! We shall leave the ghost and Lord Death to vanquish the beast. But these creatures?!" He yelled, pointing his spear at the advancing monsters, Cerberus already tackling the Chimera. "These are our responsibility! Every drop that our masters shed from the beast, every monster that is born during this conflict, they are our prey! Our burden to bear in this war! Every creature you fall is another that will never bring harm to our great king and queen! If your bones break, use the edges as knives to stab them! If your throats are slit, drown these beasts in your blood! If they swallow you whole or in pieces, crawl your way up their stomachs and eat them right back! Make whatever hell these creatures' souls end up in a blessing compared to the memory of the day they ever chose to stand against the Castle Grimskull! Are you with me?!"

It was a roar of cheers and salutes from his fellow soldiers, each man holding their spear, sword, or gun up high as he were ready for the fight of their afterlives.

Except for one of them.

"Do we have to?" One of the Tikbalangs asked with a groan.

The captain, along with the rest of his troops, turned towards the outspeaker. "…What?"

"Well, you did just say that Lord Death and that ghost guy will take care of the big monster, right? Why can't they just take care of the little ones too? I mean, we've already done a lot today. Don't we deserve a break?"

The only thing that kept the captain from walking up and slapping the subordinate upside the tone was the troops tone as he spoke, which took him off guard. Fear and self-preservation he could understand, but the Tikbalang's voice sounded almost apathetic, like he was simply bored by the entire situation.

"…You know, he might be right, boss." Spoke up one of the skeleton knights with the same tired demeanor, all heads now jerking over towards him. "If it's all just going to be taken care of anyway, we can probably just sit this one out without the queen noticing."

"And what about five minute breaks?" Said another in the crowd.

"I didn't get to eat lunch yet today. Maybe we could get some burgers or somthin'…?" Said another, scratching himself sluggishly.

One by one this new low energy attitude spread out through each of the troops, the crowd of spears and guns being lowered and brushing lazily against the ground as discussions started spreading about taking naps.

"The hell's the matter with you idiots?!" The captain yelled, even his great voice barely causing a flinch in their many drooping eyes. "It's not just that these monsters are attacking our masters' home. I can literally see them charging at us! If we DON'T fight, then we're all going to be killed! Now get yourselves back in shape before…b-before….but…maybe you're right, guys… I mean…there's always a chance that they'll just go around us, right? Until they get here it's not like they're a problem yet, right? I'm…I'm sure it'll be fine." The captain yawned as, unbeknownst to him, his eyes turned the same indigo color as the rest of his men's.

Though it drifted carelessly between each of their increasingly lazier bodies, none of the troops seemed to be at all aware of the translucent clarinet playing squid flying around them, looking just as slothful as the rest of the army.

Moments later and the monsters not being dealt with by Cerberus reached the troops, who barely reacted to them. It was the sound of tearing flesh and the shatter of metal that finally captured Manny's attentions away from Dan's battle with Typhon.

"Oh my god! Charles! We've got to help them!" He yelled panickily as he watched the Hydra's many heads scoop up individual troops in it jaws, none of the skeletons or Tikbalangs fighting back in the slightest. Getting out of Pain's hold Manny quickly bolted over towards them, in his excited state not realizing how much he'd healed up since his fight with Biceptor.

"Young master, come back!" Lord Pain tried to run after him, only to have his path blocked by the sudden appearance of the red-haired girl with the _Little Miss Scurvy_ sash.

" _Uh uh, looooser."_ The girl said in her high pitched and very smug tone, wagging her finger. _"I think you and I need to have a talk."_

* * *

Grim finally lowered the energy shield. "Geez…" He breathed, still clutching his scythe. "Ain't needed to take a blast like dat since Vesuvius cracked open. Everyone alright?"

"Grim, get Daniela and Manny back up to the castle." Mandy ordered impatiently, her eyes darting around the raging battlefield.

"Right." Grim answered immediately, seeing no need to debate this. Pulling Daniela aside he prepared to swing open a scythe portal but at that same moment she screamed "Father, look out!"

Grim turned his head too late to do anything, as the large orange form of Lantern rocketed into him, grabbing Grim's body with his massive metal fist and taking him along for the ride.

"Father!" Daniela screamed as she tried to go after them, only to have her arm caught by her mother.

"Daniela, stay behind me!" Mandy ordered her before, out of the corner of her eye, the queen spotted the glint of an edge coming right for them. Pushing Daniela back Mandy narrowly missed having the sudden golden spear impale her, just barely scratching her thigh instead. Three more appeared, each in a different hand of Pandora's Ghost as she struck down rapidly at the dodging Mandy. Mandy pulled out another pistol, having abandoned her sniper rifle for the more close-quarter combat; duel-wielding and returning fire that the ghost tried to block with each stab.

Daniela attempted to aid her mother, firing an ecto-blast up at Pandora's Ghost's head. The blast indeed struck, though the ghost merely reacted to it as though someone had just lightly slapped her, firing her own blue energy blast back at Daniela in retaliation.

The blast struck the ground and Daniela was sent flying back, Pandora's Ghost pulling her attention back fully on Mandy, preventing the mother from getting to her child.

Daniela groaned as she picked herself off the ground quite a few feet away from where she'd been thrown. She was ready to fly right back in to help her mother when the translucent form of a small skeleton boy with a brown tuft of hair appeared in her way.

"J-Junior?" Daniela asked, recognizing her older brother's younger self from the old family portraits that hung in the castle.

The Sin seemed to either not hear her words or simply ignore them as he floated around to the side of her body.

" _Look at him over there."_ The Sin whispered into her ear, startling her slightly. Somehow, without even seeing where the Sin was pointing at, Daniela knew to turn her head over to her right, where off in the distance Manny was fighting to keep the Hydra away from the troops. _"Of course he's already knee-deep in another fight. Probably looking for another chance to show you up."_

"Show me up? What? No, Manny's just trying to help the soldiers." Daniela defended.

" _But it doesn't hurt that he gets to prance around while doing so, does it?"_ The Sin said. _"Always with that smug, superior look on his face. Thinks he's so much better than you just because he can hit a little harder. He hasn't worked hard as hard as you have and yet he'll probably be called the hero of this day, just because he's always trying to make you look bad."_

Daniela placed her hand on her forehead, eyes closed with the dizziness and conflicting thoughts that were starting to overcome her. "No, Manny's…Manny's vain but he's never…never tried to…"

" _You both go to Hela's realm, so that he can show you how many more of her minions he can take down than you. He picks a fight with Junior as soon as he comes home so that he can show off to him. You both finally meet your real father and what's the first thing he does? Brags about how_ _he_ _was able to kill something when you couldn't. Manny thinks that all his extra power means he's better than you and he can't ever resist trying to tell that to everyone!"_

Daniela's red eyes gave a flash of green and she gritted her teeth. "He's…an uncouth, ungrateful little troll. He's not better than me!"

" _You work harder than he does! You put more thought in your powers than just 'Hit stuff'! Why should he get all the attention? Why should he get all the glory that these powers bring? He doesn't deserve it! You do!"_

Daniela's eye became completely overtaken by the envious green color and she flew off in Manny's direction, almost with a snarl.

* * *

… **With Grim and Lantern…**

The wild ride finally came to an end and Lantern tossed Grim at the ground, causing the sketon to bounce harshly against the rocky terrain until he finally came to a stop in a crumpled heap.

"Had to make sure I got you away from that wife of yours." Lantern exposited as he picked the scythe up from off the ground while Grim rubbed his aching head. "This time no one is getting in the way of my revenge!"

Scythe in hand, Lantern swung down at Grim's neck.

…Only to have the blade stop on its own inches from its target.

"What?!" Lantern exclaimed, putting all his strength into his swing and yet the blade still not budging, as if locked in place in the air.

"Yeah…dat ain't gonna work." Grim said simply. A blast of purple erupted from the scythe's staff and Lantern was knocked back, his vice-grip upon the weapon easy broken as it flew back to Grim's hand as he stood back up. "Only so many times I can get it stolen before I put some proper security on da damn thing. It only works fer me now (and of course, my wife)."

Lantern's cybernetic yellow eyes narrowed slightly in anger, having been so close to his vengeance yet still denied it again. But the robot couldn't help but still feel some amusement. "I guess you did learn from your last experience with me after all, Grim."

Grim gave him a funny look. "Do I know you?" He asked honestly.

"Oh, I doubt you could ever forget _me_ , Grim." Lantern replied. If he had a mouth a malicious grin would be spreading across his delighted features. "After I stole your scythe the first time, humiliated you, nearly killed you, and used its power to nearly trigger the end of the mortal world as we knew it? Oh yes, there's no forgetting me."

"You realize you're being deliberately vague, right?" Grim grumbled.

"Who, me? No…" Lantern mocked playfully. "I'd just like to think with the whole pumpkin motif thing I've got going on here it'd be pretty obvious who I am, Grim old boy."

"Well, it's not, and honestly I don't care regardless. I was enjoying my Sunday before you lot came up storming our castle and makin' a mess of da place, so why don't you just drop the crap and get on with it already."

"Whoa! Simmer down there, Grim." Lantern said with faux concern. "Don't go _losing your head_ like that."

Grim's eye sockets went wide and he gave a series of rapid, disbelieving blinks. "You've…GOT…to be kidding me…" He breathed. "Jack O'Lantern?!"

"Ya cha cha cha!" Lantern said happily, popping off his cylindrical head and tipping to Grim like one would a hat.

Grim eyed Lantern up and down, it almost impossible for his mind to associate the bulky machine before him with the skinny twig of a man he'd decapitated a century ago, even with the frowning Jack O'Lantern face staring at him from the orange metal chest.

"What da hell happened to you?" Grim couldn't stop himself from asking.

"Funny enough, hell is exactly what happened to me." Lantern answered as he screwed his head back on. "You saw to that! Because of the deal we made you weren't allowed to kill me but didn't stop you from sending me down into the Underworld anyway!"

"I didn't break my word, Jack. I couldn't tear your soul away from your body so I sent them both away where you couldn't do any more harm." Grim defended.

"Oh don't worry, I'm more than familiar with your Underworld rules and logics regarding loopholes by now." Lantern spat bitterly, the flames within his chest seeming to grow hotter in his anger. "I spent years down in the hell YOU put me in, living in an immortal body that did me little good while I was getting constantly beaten up and tortured by demons without even the slightest bit of humor! No matter what they did to me, I couldn't die! No matter how much time passed, I wouldn't age! Within a year in that place I didn't dare to even think the word 'prank' or I'd risk having them shove more nails under my skin or saw off another of my limbs!"

"Glad to see you finally learned yer lesson, then." Grim remarked heartlessly. "Yer pranks were always the reason you got into so much trouble."

"I didn't deserve to be killed for them!" Lantern bellowed, his mind no doubt flashing back to the olden days of Endsville and how the people had framed him. "Sure, I could get carried away but I only wanted to spread a little cheer and humor to our dreary little world. But people like you decided I should suffer for it!"

"You weren't even going to go to Hell when I came fer you." Grim stated, causing Lantern to be stunned for a moment. "We don't chuck people into de inferno fer playing pranks on people, especially not when they've been murdered through little fault of der own."

Lantern was slightly taken aback by this news. "But then why-"

"Because you stole my scythe." Grim answered. "You made the choice to put up a fight and mess with things you didn't understand. To make a deal fer something you didn't deserve with a being who does not like being tricked. If you'd just left well enough alone, both then and on the Halloween we met again, yer life and yer death would have been a lot less tormented fer you."

"You cut off my head!" Lantern screamed.

"Frankly I think it was an improvement." Grim shrugged.

Lantern practically roared as he threw his fist at Grim, only the Reaper's sudden energy shield from his scythe saving him from harm. Lantern repeated cracked his fists against the dome, pushing Grim back with each strike. Finally, Lantern changed tactics, slamming his hands against the dome's sides, pouring out a constant outpoint of energy from his palms to violently vibrate the sides until the shield final blew apart. In the second he had Grim made an energy slash swing out from the scythe's blade, though it only barely singed the cyborg's orange armor before Lantern smashed his fist into Grim's ribs, sending the skeleton's loose bones flying out from his robes.

"Don't bother with attacks, Grim." Lantern said as Grim's bones moved on their own to reassemble themselves with his slowly ascending robe. "Your son could barely make a crack against it. I doubt you could do any better."

"Junior?" Grim asked as he cracked his vertebrae back into place, the scythe floating back into his hand.

Though Lantern's face was practically black save for his eyes, it almost felt like he was sneering. "Despite Phantom's protests to the contrary, your little ghostly step-daughter was telling the truth. I was there. I killed Junior myself."

Grim's eyes were wide at his words but they slowly morphed into a stare. "I don't believe you. I'd know if my son were dead." He said defiantly.

"It doesn't matter what you believe, Grim. It happened." Lantern stated bluntly. "You wanted to know what the hell happened to me? Well, it's because of people who seem to hate you and your wife almost as much as I do. They came down into that hell looking for me, during a time when I was nearly comatose from all the torture, the only thing keeping me going being my desire for revenge. They told me that I had a special gift that no one else had. Immortality granted by the Grim Reaper himself but one that he couldn't take away because of his word. You can't reap my soul and that means neither could your son! So they offered me a deal of their own. They'd give me power beyond any I'd known before, so long as that in addition to taking my revenge on you, I'd kill Junior as well, which I was only too happy to do, Grim. From what I've heard, he is your favorite of Mandy's little bastards."

Grim felt his grip tighten on his scythe and his anger flaring, though tried to push it down. He would know if Junior was really dead, he kept telling himself, as he would anyone else close to him. Though the nagging doubts kept rising up in his mind that he tried to push away, reminding him he'd never had to sense the death of another Reaper and that there was a chance that he couldn't.

"Who are these others? Who sent you?" Grim asked, trying focus on this instead of Junior's possible fate.

"Oh, they didn't send us this time!" Lantern laughed. "In fact, I imagine they're already planning hundreds of endless torments for Pandora and I now that we've disobeyed them by attacking early. But the two of us have practically been living for our shot at revenge, so that's of little concern to us at the moment. But enough about me! Let's get on to what we're going to do with you!"

With glee, Lantern opened up a hidden compartment in his leg. Grim threw his scythe defensibly in front of himself, ready for whatever weapon Lantern was pulling out.

But then Grim saw what it was as Lantern held it out in his hands; a small burlap sack barely bigger than Grim's own palm, with string holding it tied shut.

Untying the string from around the bag, Lantern threw it up in the air, allowing its glittering contents to spill out over them.

" _Gold coins?"_ Grim realized in confusion. It was a quick little shower as there were barely a hundred of them in the bag and soon as the coins simply laid scattered about between the two on the ground. Grim was of course still hesitant towards them. Lantern wouldn't have just thrown them for no reason. But he wasn't sure what to be on guard for. He couldn't sense anything magical about them. As far as he could tell these were all just ordinary gold coins, the most unusual thing about them being that the currency seemed to be from different countries and regions, ranging from Spanish treasure, Mayan, early American, and…Caribou Coffee?

Looking closer Grim could see that some of the coins were not real gold but merely wrapped in gold colored foil. Mixed in with the actual gold were chocolate coins.

"What kind of game are ya playin' at here, Jack?" Grim demanded to know.

"What? Don't you want them?" Lantern asked casually.

"Of course I want them! I-… Wait, what?" Grim stopped, surprised himself by what had just come out of his mouth.

Lantern on the other hand didn't seem the least bit shocked by Grim's words, merely shrugging his large metal shoulders and bending down to pick up a coin. "Well…I mean…if you don't want them, I can always just take them-"

"No! Don't you touch those!" Grim found himself screaming violently, swinging his scythe to get Lantern to back off. "Those coins are mine! Do you hear me?! MINE!"

Grim then fell to his knees, desperately scrambling to scoop up as many of the coins into his arms as possible. He then threw his hand up to his forehead, his skull feeling like it was about to crack wide open as he fought to overcome this sudden overpowering urge.

With great effort, as his eyes didn't want to leave any of the coins in fear that'd be taken, Grim twisted his head painfully to his side, finally seeing the two translucent figures floating beside him. One the fat man continuously stuffing his face and the other the crab with its claws clamping tightly around its moneybags.

"Ahh. Do you recognize the Sins beside you, Grim?" Lantern asked tauntingly.

"Gluttony…" Grim said through his teeth, his voice strained. "Greed..."

"That's right." Lantern said as he kneeling down to Grim, even on one knee his body still much bigger than the Reaper's. "Here's the thing, Grim," He explained. "When I tried to cut your head off a moment ago, that was my one last attempt to see if I could repay you for the 'kindness' you imparted on me. Since I couldn't, I had to move on to plan B, and in a strange way, I actually like it a bit more.

"When Pandora told me about what that box of hers really contained, my imagination went wild with possibilities." Lantern continued, picking up a coin and waving it lazily in front of Grim's face, laughing as Grim made a desperate lunge for it. "The urge to prank may have been beaten out of me years ago, but I still know the ingredients for a good trick when I see them. …Tell me something, Grim, and be honest with yourself: what's something that the Grim Reaper has always had great access to, but has never been allowed to keep for himself?"

Grim clamped his jaw shut tight, though he could feel the words starting to force their way up his throat, the two Sins prodding him to do so.

"Come on, Grim. Sound it out." Lantern said. "Sa…Sa…"

"….Souls…!" Grim finally blurted out.

"That's right. Souls." Lantern said. "You've spent so long reaping them from the living and passing them along to the other afterlife realms, but do you ever get to keep any for yourself?"

" _Those souls are yers! Nobody else's!"_ Greed said into Grim's ear with his throaty sailor voice. _"Why should you break yer back all day, every day to give them to others? Why, when you can keep then fer yerself? Imagine the collection ye'd have by now if you'd kept them all from the start."_

" _Think of all the power it'd give you too, to be the master of all those souls."_ Gluttony said into his other ear, his fat lips continuously smacking. _"People are always dying. That's why you're always busy grabbing those souls and bringing them into the afterlife realms. But if you started keeping them, then that means you keep getting more and more power."_

" _And who's to say you can't start taking back some of them too?"_ Both Sins said in unison.

"No…" Grim whimpered as his empty sockets started to flicker with orange color.

"That's right, Grim." Lantern said, happy to see the Reaper was getting the idea. "Imagine it now, how all the realms will react when the Grim Reaper himself suddenly goes on a rampage, laying siege against Heaven, Hell, Valhalla, Hades, and so on and so on." Lantern placed his metal finger under Grim's jaw and lifted his face to look at him. "I might not be able to kill you, Grim, but I bet there's a few gods and demons out there that can, and will gladly do so when they see you coming after their property."

Lantern laughed heartily, the sound seeming so unnatural coming from his echoing robotic voice. "Now that's a trick worthy of my revenge."

* * *

… **With Manny…**

"Damnit!" Manny swore as another sudden Hydra head nearly took a chunk out of his ribs. "How am I supposed to kill this thing if it keeps growing back its heads?!"

Two of his clones were doing what they could to get the skeleton knights and the Tikbalangs away (the troops not fighting against him but still too lazy under Sloth's influence to help him either), but their job was getting harder by the minute as the previous ten heads of the Hydra had roughly doubled in number, only stopping now because Manny finally caught on that blasting their long necks was not helping.

"What am I going to do?" Manny asked, sweating as his ghostly body could only keep dodging the striking heads for so long, not to mention the other problem of the other monsters appearing every time Dan or the castle managed to get Typhon to bleed from above. So far the remaining Ammits and Xineohps were able to hold off the recently emerged Harpies and Manotaurs but Cerberus was starting to look worse for wear after fighting through each Chimera and Orthrus the blood kept continuously spitting out. And only more were going to come.

Just when Manny thought the Hydra was finally about to overwhelm him, two of its heads finally catching his clones and causing them to burst into light upon their deaths, out of the corner of his eye Manny spotted the flash of long white hair coming towards him.

"Daniela!" He exclaimed, turning relieved to see his twin approaching. "Never thought I'd say this but man am I glad to see you!"

Daniela said nothing in response to his words, merely flying in and not slowly down as she got in close to him. Once he was in range, Daniela fired a blast of ecto-energy from her hand, striking the unsuspecting Manny dead in the chest and blasting him away from the Hydra.

"Ow!" Manny clutched his stinging chest. "What are you, crazy?! What'd you do that for?!"

Daniela blasted without warning at him again, this time Manny able to get out of the way.

"I'll teach you to try and make me look bad, you damn little troll!" She screamed as she fired.

"Make you look bad?" Manny gaped in confusion, being continuously forced back by his sister's onslaught. "Daniela, what are you talking about?!"

"Don't play dumb, even though that seems to be your only true skill!" Daniela yelled bitterly. "I refuse to ever be called weak again, especially in comparison to someone like you!"

Her form split into four versions of herself, all speeding along to corner their brother. They all rushed him at the same time. Manny tried to grab and throw those that got too close, not wanting to seriously hurt his clearly unwell sister, but before he could they all turned invisible, disappearing from view before they reached him.

"Daniela, calm down! Just talk to me! What's going-!"

Manny felt a fist crack against his jaw, cutting off his speech. But when he reached to grab at where it'd come for, he caught nothing but air. The heel of a shoe then slammed into his back but again, he was unable to see where the attack had come from.

"Always treating me like some kind of arrogant sow, just because I actually bother to take my time and figure out how our powers work." Daniela's voice came from all around him. "But no one ever cares about that! All anyone ever sees is me getting smacked around the battlefield while you just blast everything! All glory be to the one who doesn't have to think and nothing for the one who actually had to work for her talent!"

Repeated kicks and blows came to Manny's stomach and face, even getting his nose to bleed quite profusely.

"I will not be the inferior twin to someone who doesn't deserve what's rightfully mine!" Daniela shrieked as Manny saw green light appear in all four directions around him. Seconds later and all four of the lights erupted into ecto-streams, striking him hard and getting him to scream in agony.

The blasts ended and Manny fell straight to the earth, groaning heavily and barely able to keep himself conscious. Tilting his head up under the weight of his beat form, expecting to see the four Danielas ready to finish him off, Manny instead saw the nerd-dressed Sin floating before his face, twisting his flight path around so that he could talk into Manny's ear.

" _Listen to the way she talks to you!"_ He said angrily. _"If it's not one thing it's the other! If she's not treating you like the baby of the family then she's getting jealous just because you actually know how to fight! But of course, nothing could ever be wrong with the way little Miss Perfect does things so it just be something wrong with you! Because she just can't ever accept that you're actually better than her at something! So she has to drag you down with her!"_

Manny's eyes flashed before turning a solid red color, not unlike that of his mother's as he bared his teeth in anger. And when the four Danielas finally did show themselves around him, Manny did not hold back, releasing the energy from his body in an explosion of power like he'd down with the Harpies earlier that day, taking out the three closest to him.

"You are arrogant!" Manny spat at the remaining Daniela, the real one. "You think you're so much better just because you can do a few extra tricks. Well you know what? I'm sick of your attitude! Thinking you're better when I'm the one who actually proves it!"

"Proves it?!" Daniela scoffed offended. "All you do, all you've ever done, is act like a spoiled little prince, getting by solely on your natural power and hard-headed, cocky attitude, always thinking that everything will always work out just fine for you because, of course, it always does! You get all the breaks I don't, all while remaining lovingly ignorant of everything around you!"

"Oh, and you're so much more knowing, oh great one?!" Manny said pointedly. "Just because you snuck out of the castle and Junior probably took pity on you by letting stay a little longer with him? Because he knew I didn't need any help! I actually know what I'm doing, though you'd never know that if I asked you! You know what? I bet the reason Junior's not here right now is because he just doesn't want to deal with you anymore! I know I wouldn't. I'll bet that if I'd asked him if I could come along with him, he'd have said yes in a heartbeat! He'd much rather have me around that listen your constant stream of BITCH all day!"

That seemed to be the part that finally fully set Daniela off. "You're not taking Junior from me too!" She screamed as she blasted him with a single beam from both hands. Manny returned fire with his own, his blast being much stronger and easily pushing Daniela's back.

Before it could hit her, Daniela cut off her blast and split herself in two to maneuver around Manny's, reforming herself as she flew back at him. Manny was only too happy to get his hands on her and did the same.

Both twin collided in the air, green sparks flying from their bodies as they went for each other's throats, all while Envy and Wrath continued to whisper poison into their ears.

* * *

… **With Mandy and Pandora's Ghost…**

Mandy had to admit, it'd been a while since she'd had a fight she'd enjoyed this much. True, she'd already put a few well-placed slugs into her opponent, even disabling both of the ghost's left arm after plugging her shoulders, but this was one of the few times in recent memory that she'd had to be mindful of how much ammo she had left. Ecto-ranium didn't come cheap and unlike most of her guns, these one couldn't magically refill themselves due to the rarity of the bullet material. Counting bullets as she fought something clearly inhuman? It almost made her nostalgic for her old assassin days.

Almost being the operative word, of course. She was still the queen here and now and she wanted this ghost, Pandora, and the rest of these damn things off her front lawn.

Pandora's Ghost flew at her spear first once more, having gotten her second wind. Mandy, using her smaller size and superior reflexes, slid across the ground, going under and through the skirt of the ghost's dress, shooting her in both her lower legs with a bullet from both her guns. Pandora's Ghost fell over in the pain, dropping her remain weapon as she reflexively moved to cover her wounds. Due to her ectoplasmic anatomy she'd soon heal up rather quickly, though at the moment it was clearly Mandy who had the upper hand, standing behind the knelling ghost with both pistols aimed at her head, the queen even taking the moment to admire the ghost's very pleasant hourglass figure and firm butt.

"…..What?" Mandy said, catching that last thought from her head, one which most certainly didn't belong there.

" _You know, I bet you could cop a feel right now and no one would notice."_ Came the next thought, trying to direct her attentions towards the ghost's chest. The moment she tried to look away but found that she could was all the confirmation Mandy needed to know that these thoughts weren't her own.

Without a second of hesitation, Mandy placed the gun under her jaw and fired up.

After blacking out for a minute, Mandy found herself waking back up on the ground, her head pounding as her skull restructured itself and her hair grew back. _"God I hate doing that."_ She groaned as she sat up.

Finally in enough control of herself to observe her surroundings as her brain rebooted, Mandy could now see the floating form of the 10-year old version of her eldest daughter; the queen able to see Pandora's Ghost's still knelling form through the Sin's body.

" _Hmm…perhaps you're in the mood for something a little more meaty then?"_ The Sin giggled, the lack of any Shakespearian dialect making it all the more clear that this wasn't the real Minnie. _"Perhaps we should call Phantom down for a little quicky?"_ She suggested, point up just at the moment Typhon managed to finally backhand Dan away from him before sending more flames in his direction. _"Sure he's a little busy at the moment but I'm sure he'll be more than willing. You certainly wouldn't mind anyway. If I recall you found him much more enjoyable that Nergal Jr at least. Maybe we can even get something started with Grim and Lantern too! You've never tasted metallic cock before, have you?"_

"Get out of my head!" Mandy threatened, pointing her gun at the Sin, though she instantly reminded herself that was a pointless thing to do. The Sin didn't have an actual physical form so even the Ecto-ranium wouldn't do any good. But still she couldn't just do nothing. She could feel the Sin's whispers slowly creeping back into her mind, turning all her thoughts that should be about the battle into fantasies about Dan's ass and how much she was really craving a nice hard-

"Stop it!" Mandy demanded, squeezing the sides of her head, trying to force the thoughts out through sheer force of will. At this the Sin merely giggled cutely again and moved to whisper more dirt into her ear.

With all her remaining mental strength Mandy pushed the barrel of her gun back into the underside of her jaw. She'd have to think fast once she regained consciousness, but she needed to be in control of her own brain if she was going to think of a way out of this.

"No, no, Mandy. You don't want to do that." The voice of an angel then called out to her.

Mandy tilted her head towards the voice, seeing Pandora now walking up to her, surrounded by an almost heavenly glow and beckoning towards her.

"D-dammit!" Mandy cursed, trying to force herself to pull the trigger but finding she was too full of figurative butterflies to have the nerve to do it in front of Pandora. The Sin was starting to alter her perception of reality and at the rate things were going, it wouldn't be long until Mandy stopped being aware of that fact.

Pandora moved in closer and gently placed her hands on Mandy's own, causing the queen's heart to skip a beat. "It would really upset me if you kept hurting yourself like this, Mandy." She said in a sweet, caring tone. "Please, give me the guns. It would make me so happy if you did. I might even give you a little…heh… _reward_ for it, if you know what I mean."

Mandy struggled and sweat greatly, every one of her muscles feeling like they were on fire with every second she didn't do as her lover asked.

"Mandy…" Pandora repeated, just as sweetly. "Give me the guns. Please."

Mandy's hands shook as they slowly started to turn the guns to move them to Pandora's own.

The small girl then gave a jump in shock as Mandy finally did pull the trigger, the gunshot echoing loudly as Mandy's body crumpled to the ground.

"…That is a very stubborn woman." Pandora commented to the Sin.

Mandy knew she couldn't have been out for very long, but it was still long enough so that when her eyes finally reopened Pandora was standing across from her, twirling both pistols in her hands.

"Was that few seconds of freedom worth it, Mandy? I hope so, because they're the last you're ever going to have." Pandora remarked as she gestured for the Sin to float back to Mandy, the scantily clad mockery of her daughter going back to whisper lewd thoughts into her ear, much to Mandy's displeasure. "Heh. I had a feeling it'd be Lust that'd go after you, Mandy. Honestly, with the possible exception of gluttony, there could be nothing else but, and my partner said he already had a plan for Gluttony anyway."

Pandora moved forward, her short stature meaning she didn't even have to knell like Mandy was to pinch her cheek playfully, feeling completely safe as the queen was too busy fighting back the Lust-instilled urges to grope her something fierce. "It's the same reason for why none of the Sins are going after your friend Dan up there, even though according to our data he's a ready-made gigantic, sinful asshole. Well, in fact, like you, it's because he's all that stuff that the Sins won't go near him. Like you, he's already so full of anger, pride, and greed that there's nothing repressed for them to bring out. But unlike him, you aren't exactly going around sleeping with whatever catches your fancy (despite what the tabloids say). Just your husband, your ex-husband, and the fathers of your children. Honestly, Mandy, if it wasn't for our current situation, I'd be very disappointed in you."

The burning red of Mandy's eyes fought valiantly against the flashes of pink that tried to overtake them. "I'll kill you." She hissed.

"No. You'll love me." Pandora corrected the twitching Mandy with the smirk. "In fact, you'll be so in love with me that you'll tear your heart out just to be with me. I might even make you do it too, since I know it won't kill you. And that will be my revenge, Mandy. To repay you for every moment I spent trapped in that box after you betrayed me, I'm going to take away the one thing that matters most to you: your pride. Your self-worth. Your very sense of control. I'm going to subject you to daily and often public humiliations and you're going to beg me for more. In your lust for me you'll be whatever kind of whore I ask of you and I will make sure the whole world sees it. Now doesn't that sound nice?"

It happen so fast Pandora couldn't even register what'd happened until it was over. It was just a quick surge of blinding pain on her face and suddenly there was blood spraying out everywhere. Her robe had a hole torn in its front where Mandy had grabbed her, revealing the Endsville Elementary school uniform underneath she'd worn ever since that day she'd been trapped in the box. Mandy herself was lying on her stomach on the ground, her thighs meshing together with sexual anticipation but her face almost twisting in rage, even with the rapid flashes of pink in her eyes.

Pandora shook furiously as her nose continued to gush blood. "Ew bitch! Ew boke by doze!" She screamed as she held her hand over it, using her other to strike Mandy against the side of her head with her own gun. With Mandy's emotions at war with themselves within her, the queen barely even seemed to feel it. Pandora was completely fuming over what'd just happen, but seeing Lust still hovering over Mandy, did what she could to calm down, telling herself to just add it to the list of punishments Mandy was going to receive.

Checking the pockets of her robe to see if she had any bandages or tissues, Pandora then noticed her ghost slave stand up and start staring right at her.

"Bwhat?" She asked impatiently through her blood covered mouth.

The ghost's golden spear then appeared in her hand and pointed directly down towards her.

Pandora's eyes went wide, reaching up to grab the necklace she'd been wearing….under her robe…

Her head jerked towards Mandy and in the woman's clutched fingers, between the torn fabric, was a small palm sized crystal ball on a chain, red mist swirling inside its sphere.

Eyes wide, Pandora took a fearful step back.

Mandy, with great struggle while under Lust's influence, lifted her head up to glare at Pandora. "Get her." She ordered though her teeth and the ghost attacked, Pandora firing Mandy's guns wildly to defend herself.

* * *

… **With Manny and Daniela…**

Despite the circumstances, it was strange how similar to their previous sparring matches this battle was. Manny fought head-strong in nature, putting his all into every one of his blows so that any of them could have been the end of his sister, while Daniela maneuvered around them, trying to gain the strategic advantage and rarely attacking back otherwise. The one key difference this time, no matter what they may have said in the past, they'd never been truly trying to kill each other before now.

"Fucking hold still!" Manny screamed as Daniela shifted around another one of his blasts, not noticing as one of her copies came up and blasted him upside the head.

"As always, your words are sharper than your senses, brother." Daniela spat as Manny blew a hole through her clone in retaliation. "How you could ever believe yourself to be superior to me baffles the mind when you refuse to even learn the basics of your powers."

"Blah blah blah!" Manny dismissed her words, pumping out a series of rapid fire energy blasts in her direction, filling up the entire area so that there was nowhere she could go to escape them. "My powers are stronger so that makes me stronger! You're just mad that I'm actually able to win fights without relying on tricks!"

"And yet these 'tricks' as you call them have beaten you every time we've fought!" Daniela yelled pointedly as her body turned intangible, allowing the blasts to pass harmlessly through her. "You are an embarrassment to yourself and this family and It's time you acknowledge that!"

"Make me!" Manny roared as he unleashed his Ghostly Wail. The ultrasonic screech made it near impossible for Daniela to remain focused enough to keep up her intangible form, causing her to be struck by the attack. But Manny didn't stop there, splitting of two clones of himself from his body and ordering them to fly to her sides. Once Daniela was able to refocus herself, she looked in horror as the three Manny's had her boxed in before they all used their Ghostly Wails.

The Wails cut into her body like a thousand invisible knives, Daniela's quick thinking being the only reason she was not immediately killed. Splitting off three copies of herself, all three worked together to form a single green spherical shield around them. The Ghostly Wails were making quick work of the shield, starting to crack it apart very fast. But it slowed it down and even when the shield finally shattered, it was her clones that took the final full impact of the attacks, destroying them instantly but leaving the real Daniela with only the bloody injuries from the first wave.

Panting heavily, Manny's clones dissipated into the air, leaving just the real one. And as his hellish red eyes stared into his sister's contempt filled green ones, his rage only seemed to grow more.

Flying at full speed Manny crashed into her, tackling her down to the ground. As both twins smacked against the hard dirt, it was Manny who got up first, clamoring over his sister before striking her across the face with his fist. Daniela's blood sprayed out from her mouth all over the dirt from the hit but that wasn't to be the last of them. Holding her neck so tightly he was practically strangling her, Manny beat against her face as hard as he could, his knuckles growing redder with each blow.

"I-won't-EVER-have to listen-to your damn-know-it-all-bratty voice-ever AGAIN!" He screamed between each punch. "You don't want to be the inferior twin? FINE! Then I'll make it so that you're not my twin at all!"

Manny held his hand up high, green energy crackling in his fist as he held it over Daniela's bloody and swollen features, her unmoving face hardly recognizable anymore.

But before he could finally finish her off, Daniela's desperate hand lunged forward, grabbing Manny by his chest. There was a sudden flash of bright white light and both teens suddenly reverted to their human forms.

"You…! You changed me back?!" Manny exclaimed, unable to hide his shock even while under Wrath's influence. "How?! How did you-?!"

But Daniela allowed him to say no more words, as she turned intangible and then leapt into Manny's body, his eyes glowing bright and his body twisting unnaturally backwards as she did so.

"N-NO!" Manny screamed as he clutched the sides of his head, feeling Daniela's presence in his body. "G-get out of me!"

"You don't deserve this power!" Daniela's voice came from out of his mouth, moving against his will. "You never deserved it! The only one who does deserve it…is…is…!"

"ME!" Daniela's voice roared as Manny's body exploded back into his ghost form, his hair erupting into white flames as his eyes glowed a solid sickly red and green color, the overshadowing complete.

Daniela flew faster than she'd ever known before, reaching the cornucopia of spawning monsters in seconds, her new speed almost scorching the air as she stopped. Lighting Manny's hands up with a small crackling green ball of ecto-energy, Daniela attracted the Hydra's attention as it finished chewing on the bones of the last remaining troops.

Soon as the beast's many heads turned, Daniela placed the energy ball into Manny's mouth and then swallowed it.

And then it was like the entire Underworld exploded. Daniela unleashed a Ghostly Wail unlike any ever seen before, the dissipating ball in their throat adding to each waves' power until it just seemed like one long solid white beam erupting from their mouth. All twenty pairs of the Hydra's eyes went wide before seconds later its entire body was reduced to ash, caught in the all-consuming attack.

This didn't fail to attract the attention of all the other monsters in the area, which worked out all too well from Daniela, as she dove head-first into the sea of the beasts.

* * *

 **...With Grim and Lantern…**

"Ooh, what do you think those other rulers are going to do to you first, Grim?" Lantern asked giddily as the two Sins kept themselves occupied tormenting the knelling over Grim, directing his attentions towards anything shiny. "While I do love all the weapons and powers Drax installed into me, none of them are really as creative as I'd prefer. I was hoping for more prankster themed weapons, you know? Things like noxious gas Whoopee Cushions, exploding pies, sneezing powder that makes people literally sneeze out their lungs, and such. But Drax said even he couldn't make weapons like that work, though if you ask me he really didn't try to. So I had to settle for punches and energy blasts, which aren't as fun. Hopefully all these other realm rulers with all their weird little powers will be able to destroy you in a more entertaining way."

Grim seemed to ignore Lantern's mocks, too busy with his arms struggling to keep hold of all the gold, plus his scythe in his greedy little hands.

"Now don't be like that, Grim." Lantern wagged his finger. "I worked hard coming up with this revenge plot. The least you could do is help me get the most out of it by begging or crying a little."

Still, Grim said nothing, or at least nothing in response, as Lantern noticed Grim's mouth moving, as if muttering something under his breath.

"What? What is that? What are you saying?" Lantern leaned in closer, trying to hear him better.

"飢えた人たち。うちにおいで。 飢えた人たち。うちにおいで。 飢えた人たち。うちにおいで。" Grim spoke, so rapidly as if repeating a mantra.

"Is that…is that Japanese?" Lantern said, taken a bit off-guard.

"Not very good Japanese, but yes." Grim finally replied, leaning on his scythe to keep himself sitting up. "Been a bit out of practice wit de language lately, but thankfully the message relies more on context than wording."

"Message?" Lantern uttered.

Grim smiled his dark toothy smirk at the robot, the orange tint of his eye-sockets due to the Sins' power giving him an almost nightmarish look, causing Lantern to take an unintentional step back before snapping himself out of it.

Then Lantern heard it. So faint, so constant, he might have thought he was just imagining it if his cybernetic eyes were not showing him the rising sound bars. Lantern quickly checked his surroundings, trying to determine where the noise was coming from. It was a sound not unlike that of a stampede, but in place of the thundering hooves of oxen or horses, it was a smaller sound, like that of pattering tiny feet. Rats maybe? Or at least something about as big.

Still turning his head, deeply troubled by whatever it was, it was there, over the horizon of the mountainous wasteland that he finally saw it. Moving over the cracked rocky terrain like the white foam of the sea, that was at first what Lantern thought it was; that Grim had summoned a wave from an unknown ocean to drown them all. But as the whiteness moved closer, he started to see the individual shapes moving around inside.

They were bones.

Millions of them. From hands running on fingers to hopping feet to the rolling skulls and ribcages, all moving however they could to arrive at their destination: the castle.

Panicking heavily, Lantern's arms opened up into their rocket launcher form, firing wildly into the river of bones as it passed right along through him and Grim.

"Relax, Jack. Dey aren't here for you." Grim said calmly over the rumble of skeleton bits, pointing out that they weren't even retaliating against Lantern's attacks, ignoring him entirely as they rolled right on by. "Well…not yet, anyway. Dey're here for each other."

Lantern stared at Grim in alarm and confusion, not sure of what the Reaper meant. But looking back around again, Lantern saw that from all around the castle grounds bones were pouring in in streams, all moving to converge at the base of the castle's mountain, where they started to stack upon themselves.

Higher and higher the tower of shifting white mass climbed, reaching skyward before structures started to form out of its sides; structures which, after a minute, Lantern recognized as ribs.

More bones came and after the minutes had passed by, a giant skeletal hand reached out from behind the castle fortress its owner now nearly towered over. Typhon, having been so long consumed in his battle to swat the annoying insect that was Dan, finally found his attention drawn as the leg-less beast his own size emerged from behind the castle, its long two bare bone arms moving it forward as its spine scraped a trench through the dirt. It stared out at the taken-aback Typhon through its wide empty sockets, its massive skull made of several hundred smaller ones, all in constant waving motion like the rest of its body.

Typhon roared like an erupting volcano at this new intruding monster. The skeleton beast roared back in response, its howl sounding so much more empty and almost like a banshee's shriek.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" Lantern finally screamed as he had to bend over backwards to gaze up at the titanic beast.

"Gashadokuro." Grim answered.

"Gesundheit?"

"Basically a giant skeleton monster of my own design." Grim explained as he used the staff of his scythe to help him stand. The two Sins that floated beside him did not look worried but rather…intrigued. Like they were waiting to see what was about to happen, which worried Lantern even more. "Made from the bones of all those who've died of starvation and thrust. A bit morbid, I know, but she was a big hit in early Japan."

Lantern couldn't stop staring up at the monster. "This…this is impossible. When did you get this kind of power?! You didn't even use the scythe!"

"Oh, I've always had this power, Jack. Just haven't used it in a while." Grim said, a menacing smile splitting across his features. "Funny thing about these Sins you and Pandora have released. While dey be very good at getting people to do what dey want, dey aint't bringing out anything dat's not already dere. Sure, dis level of greed and gluttony for power is a bit exaggerated, but it is all still mine. Sins just make you feel more free to act on them. Or in dis case, remind me of when I used ta be a bit more greedy."

"Used to?" Lantern repeated, trying to hide his nervousness.

Grim smirked. Up above them both Typhon finally attacked the Gashadokuro, its roar having given it plenty of fair warning. Flames blazed out of the Father of Monsters' eight dragon mouths, all aimed to blacken the dirty white giant. But the Gashadokuro merely howled again, breathing out an onslaught of wind from its large open maw that cut like knives through the air; the mere force of the gale pushing the flames back onto Typhon.

Quickly Typhon cut off his blasts, his own attack now consuming his body. Enraged by this trick, Typhon curled up his fist and thrust it into the Gashadokuro's ribcage, his titanic strength punching clean through the skeleton's spine, scattering the many bones in that area down to the ground.

Yet it was Typhon who started to shriek in pain. Pulling himself out of the skeleton's body quickly as he could, Typhon revealed his arm to be heavily bleeding, almost solid black down to his elbow as his inky blood leaked out from the numerous sharpened bones now lodged in his arm, almost like hundreds of wood slivers.

Typhon's blood dripped like rain, creating hundreds of new monsters on the ground below him, while the Gashadokuro's bones travelled back up its spine, repairing the damaged areas.

"It was about halfway inta my Reaping career." Grim explained. "Just a small little bug I'd gotten up my bum one day where, though I do love my job, I felt I deserved more than I was getting out of it. But since I wasn't foolish enough to start holdin' back on de souls, I decide to collect another kind of trophy." Grim gestured proudly at his collective monster. "Ye'd be hard pressed to find a more desperate body dan one that died from hunger. Exposed dem to a little magic and dey start clingin' to each other like mad, hopin' dat together dey might be able to satisfy der hunger." Grim shrugged. "Dey can't but give dem credit fer tryin' anyway."

Amongst Grim's dark speeches, Lantern's fear worsened as he saw Typhon's viper tails recoil his body to back away from the Gashadokuro, even the great beast hesitating before this new monster.

"I lost interest in my collection 'bout de same time as I lost my nerve fer a lot of other things in my life." Grim continued, casually rubbing his fingers along the blade of his scythe. "Funny how things work out, isn't it? It was because of people like you, people like Billy and Mandy, dat I lost sight of what made me who I used to be. Who I loved being. But if it wasn't fer my wife, de same woman who made my life an undying hell, I never would have got my nerve back. And if it wasn't fer you, Jack…" Grim peered over the edge of his scythe with a heart-stopping smile, his orange-tinted eye sockets reflecting off the metal. "…I wouldn't have been reminded of a past greedy little ambition of mine dat I very much enjoyed."

The Gashadokuro lifted its boney fist up high, and to Lantern's horror, it wasn't aimed at Typhon but rather down at him.

"Oh shit." Lantern shuttered as he couldn't look away. "OH SHIII-!"

The Gashadokuro's fist crashed down upon him with a deafening boom, just barely missing where Grim stood, though he didn't seem worried in the slightest of being harmed by his pet. While none of the bones were able to penetrate his armor, the onslaught of bones pelted his metal body like a vicious sandstorm, the sheer force of the impact being enough to carry him with the wave of bones even as Lantern attempted to block them with his arms.

From the impact zone the falling bones of the Gashadokuro's hand spread out like a ripple, skulls bouncing wildly across the ground before they sank their teeth into the buffet of monsters spawning from Typhon's blood, while scattered ribs and femurs sank into their bodies like knives, killing the beasts almost instantly.

Seeing his chance now that his enemy was distracted growing itself a new hand from more arriving bones, Typhon blasted lightning from his jaws at the Gashadokuro, striking a hole clean through its shoulder. The Gashadokuro gave a roar of protest, not pain, as it reformed its injury. Going on the attack, the skeleton monster grabbed Typhon's face with its free hand. Though the many tiny bones were small and harmless on their own, the many shifting and biting skull were like ants crawling all across his scaly skin, swarming and overwhelming his features with their constant attacks.

Trying anything to get the creatures off, Typhon used his lightning again. But the Gashadokuro merely kept going, grabbing onto his head with its other now rebuilt hand. Holding him tightly in its grasp, the Gashadokuro howled again, this time the searing wind breath easily taking off half Typhon's face with the point-blank attack.

Even with a good deal of its face muscle and skull showing, this one attack was not enough to kill the father of all monsters. Though that wasn't to say that the pain from it wasn't agonizing beyond belief, as Typhon's screams made clear.

* * *

… **With Dan…**

Dan floated in the sky, huffing heavily as he watched the two monstrous titans duke it out over the absolute carnage the skulls were wreaking on the monster below, feeling personally a bit conflicted at the moment.

Dan was arrogant, certainly, but he prided himself on fighting strong opponents and thus would rarely hesitate to acknowledge one. And a strong opponent is most certainly what Typhon had been. Even with the castles assistance of constant laserfire and doomed troops to hold Typhon's broods' attention, Dan had been barely holding his own. His uniform was torn, his ribs were broken, his beloved cape was practically a rag, and even when fighting Junior Dan had rarely ever felt this drained, both of energy and blood.

It certainly said something about him then that he had been having the time of this life during all this. No matter how many times he injured the damn thing it just kept going, with each injury he made just creating something he'd have to deal with later. With very few exceptions, Dan had rarely ever faced a being that refused to fall no matter how many times he hit it and it excited him each time to see if his next blow could do the job.

And thus the current conflict of emotions. Any other time in his life Dan would have been infuriated to have anyone else steal his fight from him, no matter who they were.

But in this case…

"Damn. I'm having a hard time staying mad." Dan remarked as he watched the Gashadokuro give Typhon a Harvey Dentish transformation with its breath. "That's just…so freakin' Metal."

As if a reward for choosing to let the interference slide, the blood from Typhon's face that sprayed a bit of his clothes during the attack bubbled slightly before spurting out a creature his height with the upper body of a man and the full body of a horse, minus the head, as its lower body.

Before the Centaur could even move to strike Dan grab it by the neck to keep it from falling to its death. "Well, horsey, you're not much, but you'll have to do." Dan comment lazily as the half-breed struggled in his hand.

But before Dan even began his torment of the poor beast, the Centaur exploded in his hand; and given its final scream, not by choice.

Dan turned his head and saw the body of Manny floating across from him, fists still emitting green steam from the ecto-blast. Judging by the amount of red non-Typhon blood that covered him, Dan could take a guess as to what'd been happening to the monsters below before the Gashadokuro showed up.

"Nice shootin' there, Tex." Dan remarked tonelessly as he wiped the ash off his gloves.

"Shut up!" Daniela's voice spat out of Manny's mouth, coming as something of a shock to Dan, remembering that he'd travelled less than an hour ago with her and she'd certainly looked more feminine then (also with her hair less on fire). "This is my fight! If you try to show me up again, I'll kill you too!"

Dan blinked heavily at this assertion and sudden change in attitude.

But then the smile he wore when fighting Typhon came sprawling back across his face.

"You can try." He smirked.

Gritting Manny's teeth in anger, Daniela charged as Dan floated ready, his provoking giving him exactly what he wanted.

* * *

… **With Mandy and Pandora…**

Though they were right in the thick of the carnage, the sea of white bones parted around the area where Mandy and Pandora stood, their master more than likely having made it clear to stay away from her.

"I am going to rock every inch of that man's world when we get out of this mess." Mandy smirked as she watched Typhon's monsters drown in the sea of her husband's carnivorous skulls, even Lust unsure if the words were due to her influence or Mandy's true thoughts.

Pandora panted hard where she was. Her last Ecto-ranium bullet had been the lucky one, striking through her former slave's chest during her rapid series of untrained shots. Though the ghost was out on the ground, Pandora wasn't sure if she was dead. She wasn't even sure if ghosts could die again. But for now the ghost wasn't able to attack her anymore and that was the important thing.

"This isn't over!" Pandora huffed. "Even if Typhon is killed, the Sins can't be! They'll stay around for as long as we need them and you and Grim are still possessed! You're still going to lose!"

"You little fool." Mandy spoke and Pandora instantly squeaked into silence. "We're the queen and king of the Underworld. You really think we don't know how to deal with something as simple as sin? It doesn't matter if we're still possessed because we know how to fight with sin, emphasis on with."

Pandora stammered. "I-…I don't…"

"Your friend cursed Grim with insatiable greed and gluttony. So what'd he do? He summoned for a monster with a near infinite body and whose hunger knows no limit. A monster he can channel his own hunger into to lessen what he feels and increase the destruction it wreaks. You did nothing but make him more imaginative on how to kill you all."

Pandora did what she could to fight against her growing fear, reminding herself that Mandy was the one knelling over while she was still standing. "Yeah…well…what about you?! You're practically paralyzed with the emotions Lust is bring up from what I'm sure is the very bottom of your heart. You expect me to believe that you have a way of channeling Lust to beat us that doesn't involve sleeping with everyone here? Because that would certain fit more into my plans than yours now, wouldn't it?"

"No." Mandy stated casually. "My way's much more simple."

"Simple?"

"Such a simple thing to overlook, Pandora. You really should be ashamed of yourself for it." Mandy mocked. "Even though you're immortal, you should still know this. No matter how stupid or simple people get, they're very rarely ever one-note. People have the capacity to feel different things at the same time. They can feel happy while also feeling guilty. They can feel sad while also feeling proud. And more importantly, even when they're in love, they still have the capacity to feel very…very…angry."

Pandora's heart seemed to completely stop. Mandy stood up simply from where she'd sat, so easily it was clear she no longer had to fight with Lust to do so. But it wasn't this that'd sent fear through her. It was the almost giddy smile that was nearly ready to break through Mandy's lips as she stared at Pandora, her eyes burning redder than she'd ever seen them before.

"It's true that Lust is making me want to do unspeakable things to you, Pandora, and unfortunately not the kind of unspeakable I'd prefer." Mandy explained, a deep underlying joyful threat in each of her words. "But if there's one thing I pride myself on, it's how full of hate my heart can get. And oh dear, Pandora, have I quite amassed a good amount for you lately."

Pandora then noticed the translucent Lust backing away from Mandy just as fearfully as she was. "Miss pandora…I don't want to be inside her head anymore!" She pleaded.

Pandora tripped on her own feet and fell backwards, looking up at the red-glared queen as Mandy stayed where she was. "N-now c-calm down, Ma-Mandy. We-…We can talk about this!" She begged.

Mandy's expression stayed the same but Pandora could almost feel the air getting harder to breathe. "Don't worry, Pandora. I'm not going to hurt you." She said. "Not myself. I don't want to risk Lust holding me back. And besides, I really want you to suffer."

An idea then came to her. "…And I know just the way."

With Pandora still covering, Mandy lifted up her arm and activated the commlink device hidden beneath her armband. "Control."

"Yes, my queen." The castle's control room answered on the other end, the noise of the computers watching the outside battle faintly heard in the background.

"Activate Protocol Mustard." She ordered.

There was a noise on the other end that sounded like someone, or rather several someones, dropping their coffee mugs onto the floor. "M-my queen…are you sure?" The servant asked fearfully.

"Did I stutter?" Mandy asked.

"No! Of course, my queen! Right away!"

Mandy signed off the device. "You ever wonder why I never used your box for myself, Pandora? Just kept it as a trophy?" She asked Pandora. "I could list a number of reasons. Pride. Anger over being used. Finding it too easy. But in truth, it was because I never needed your little box of infinite horrors. _Because I found one of my own_."

"W-what?" Pandora stuttered.

"Just keep your eyes to the sky."

Sure enough, exactly a minute ticked by when one of the castle's towers opened up its pointed tops, shooting something out into the air like a cannon.

Where Grim stood, still directing the Gashadokuro's power, upon hearing the noise of cannon fire he looked over at the castle to see what was going on.

Upon seeing the object it shot out hurling through the air the orange instantly left his eye sockets and Greed and Gluttony were rudely spat from his body.

"No no nonononono no! I'm getting the hell out of here!" Grim exclaimed terrified as he swung open a scythe portal dove right into it.

Seconds later he appeared at Mandy's side.

"Are you damn crazy, woman?!" He screamed at her, his anger feeding on his fear. "What are thinkin' using dat thing on our front lawn?! We've got to get out of here!"

"Quiet." She ordered, shutting him down. "The show's about to start."

Grim gave a noise that was halfway between a defeated sob and a whimper, almost tempted to leave Mandy there as it was clear there was no reasoning with her.

The fired object finally landed, touching down a short enough distance away from the castle so that Pandora could see it. As far as she could tell, it was simply a large metal door, covered in bolts and a yellow Danger sign across spread across it but no handle. There were not even any hinges on the sides to indicate if it'd ever been attached to a frame before. In fact, the only thing that indicated it was a door and not just a flat slab of metal was the window covering the center of its upper half, though that of course shattered the instant the door's bottom struck into the hard ground.

For a second, everything in the world seemed to stand still, save for Grim pulling his hood down to hide his face.

Then a great big round nose popped up in the corner of the broken window, big as the head of the small boy attached to it.

Next to him, a boy exactly identical popped up as well. Followed by another alongside him and another alongside him. So on until they filled up the row. Then a row popped up above them and a row above them.

So on did the rows upon rows fill up, the number of big-nosed boys continuously multiplying until the window space became too packed to hold them all. Finally the building pressure was too much and the iron door finally burst open.

Out from the open doorway spilled out the big-nosed children in a single file line, all wearing a blue and white striped shirt and a red baseball cap, as well as the most delightful blissfully ignorant smiles across their faces.

They marched like an army, the endless crowds of noses closing in on all sides until finally, the only bare circle of pinhead free area was that containing Mandy, Grim, Pandora, and the still unconscious Pandora's Ghost, to which all the children stopped and turned their attention.

One could almost hear a pin drop in the silence before Mandy cleared her throat. "Attention all Billys. That woman there has an Unlimited-Day pass to Sassy Cat Fun Land." She pointed at Pandora. "You want it? Go get it!"

All the Billys took in a collective breath of excitement. "SASSY CAT FUN LAND?!" They all screamed together. "YAAAAYYYYYY!"

"Wait, what?!" Pandora screamed in protest, though it fell on deaf ears, as the hundreds of Billys descended upon her.

It was a horror show of endless tiny hands grabbing at Pandora's robe, the Billys begging, pleading, and dripping snot all over her in desperation for the non-existent pass. The non-occupied Sins of Greed, Gluttony, and Sloth tried to come to her rescue, feeling some loyalty to her for freeing them, but nothing could be done. The Billys were too stupid, their heads too empty, for them to have any true sins for the Sins to bring out so they couldn't possess any of them. Even Lust, having left Mandy to get as far away from her mind as possible, felt some regret for her decision, as even though the Billys couldn't inflict actual harm upon them, they still waved their hands through her and the rest of the disembodied Sins, completely mesmerized, before on multiple occasions accidentally snorting the Sin's up their noses and sneezing them out.

For several minutes, the air was filled with nothing but screams of "SASSY CAT!", farts, and belches, all with the Billys' idiotic "DUH HA HA HA!" laughter echoing throughout the scene. Even as the Gashadokuro continued to tear through Typhon's flesh and shed his blood, creating new monsters for the skulls to feed on, the Billys weren't even fazed. Some in fact became so excited at the sight of these strange new things that they ran towards them and started to ride all the strange new cats (Hydras), dogs (skulls), and ponies (Manotaurs); having completely forgotten what they were doing before.

Soon enough time had passed for the Billys to turn the entire area around the castle's mountain completely unrecognizable, with Pandora's screams for mercy no longer able to heard amongst the laughing idiots.

"End this." Grim stated firmly to Mandy, whom herself had almost been mesmerized by the carnage. "End this before it gets to de castle. Or de kids."

Mandy glared at him for a moment but eventually sighed, signaling she was relenting. "Fine. Do it." She muttered.

Grim nodded once he was sure she wouldn't stop him and pointed his scythe at the iron door, still spilling out more Billys. Striking the frame with a blast of purple lightning from his scythe, the door's nature was changed and began to start sucking the Billys back in with incredible forceful winds.

One by one the Billys were pulled back in against their wills, though most of them being too oblivious to even notice; too busy playing with the monsters or interesting shaped cracks in the ground. As more of the Billys were pulled from the pile on top of her, Pandora found room to breathe again, though did so very raggedly after what she'd just been through.

"Wait!" One of the Billys yelled fearfully as he grabbed onto her leg while being pulled back. "What about Sassy Cat Fun Land?!"

"Get off me, you idiot!" Pandora screamed as she kicked him repeatedly in the face with her Mary Janes. It certainly hurt and bruised the Billy, but did nothing to deter him as he continued to beg. In fact, more Billys started latching onto her arms and legs, all determined not to leave without that pass. Fighting hard as she could, Pandora could not shake them off, and as the winds sucked even harder to pull the Billys in, Pandora found herself being dragged along for the ride.

"NO!" Pandora screamed in protest and terror as she flew across the battlefield in the Billys' grip. As they rapidly approached the door, it was only in sheer distress that Pandora was able to slam her free hand into the ground, her fingers digging deep into the earth just before her entire body was pulled in through the frame. As Pandora's lower body was dangling into the swirling abyss behind the door, the Billys still holding on tight, every last drop of strength she had left was devoted to keeping her out just a few seconds more. But her fingers were leaving their trails across the dirt as she was still being pulled back.

"Mandy!" She called out to the only person she could think of. "Please! I'm sorry! I'll do anything you want! I'll tell you who's after you! I'll tell you anything! Just please don't let them take me!"

From across the fields, Pandora stared into the queen's eyes, begging with everything she had.

In response, Mandy pulled out a Billy from behind her, one wearing a football helmet in place of their usual hats and significantly uglier looking than the rest, and proceeded to pull back her arm like a baseball pitcher would, crushing Pandora's hopes entirely.

Mandy tossed the Billy with an overhanded pitch, her strength adding to the suction's own speed and causing the Billy to crash into Pandora head-first, breaking her hold on the dirt.

Pandora's screams were the last sounds ever heard from behind the door as it slammed shut and the glass magically repaired itself, returning back to a normal metal door.

"…You pulled off that clean-up spell rather nicely." Mandy commented to Grim after a moment had passed and she was sure the door wasn't about to open again.

"I had nightmares every night fer a year about dat door after you told me you were going to make into a weapon." Grim grumbled. "Yer damn right I'm gonna make sure the reset button works after I had to deal wit those things de first time."

Mandy shrugged. "Like I always say, pays to be prepared." She murmured as she tried to work out a crick in her neck.

"You want me to get dat fer you?" Grim offered halfheartedly.

"Maybe later. Right now we need to deal with the rest of this crap. Not to mention figure out where the kids got off t-!"

A thundering boom interrupted Mandy's words as Typhon's body crashed lifelessly to the ground nearby, a good deal of bone fragments sticking out of what little flesh remained. The Gashadokuro stood triumphantly over its defeated foe but strangely enough did not send more of itself to eat the still warm corpse. Instead the monster reached into Typhon's body and started to tear out his bones, taking them and adding them onto itself.

"Dat's…odd." Grim said as he watched his creation work. "She's never done dat before."

"Yeah, well, I suppose Greed called dibs on first turn." Mandy sighed, pulling out a gun from behind her. Where she'd been keeping the hidden weapon Grim had no idea but he certainly liked to guess.

"Greed?" Grim asked, not understanding.

Mandy then pointed it out directly for him. The eye-sockets of all the skulls that comprised the Gashadokuro were turning orange, as well as a faint glow surrounding the other bones. And indeed, as he looked up towards the skeleton's towering head, Grim could see Gluttony and Greed flying happily around it.

"Well, dat's not good." Grim said with the same sigh as his wife's, supposing he should have expected this when his panic over the Billys had broken his connection to both the Sins and the Gashadokuro. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us." He commented, holding up his scythe.

"Oh, how right you are." Came a voice from above them.

Neither Grim nor Mandy needed to look up to see, as Lantern came crashing down into the ground before them seconds later. He certainly looked worse for wear than before, though not yet broken. His orange armor was covered in numerous nicks and scratches, as well as a fine coat of white dust, likely having come from blasting his way out of the swarming skulls before the Sins got the beast under control.

"I will admit, I did not expect our plans to fall apart like they did but you two sure put up one hell of a fight." Lantern told them, his computerized voice angry, but with a touch of control as he still believed he could win this. "Taking out both Typhon and Pandora while fighting off the Sins' influences? Even I'll applaud you for that. And a dimension fill of an infinite number of that Billy kid? That's not something I'd wish on my worst enemy."

"Neither would I, Jack. Dat's why she holds the controls." Grim said, pointing his thumb at Mandy.

"Wait…Jack?" Mandy caught, looking at Grim. "As in Jack O'Lantern Jack?"

"Yeah, I don't get it either." Grim said.

Deciding to ignore that last part, Lantern continued. "So now that our big plan's failed and I have nothing more to lose, I'm just going to fall back on an oldie but goodie. I'm going to keep beating on you until you both finally stop moving."

At his word, Sloth and Lust appeared to his side, while at Typhon's fallen body the last of his draining blood gave birth to more monsters; more Chimeras, Manotaurs, and Hydras to join in Lantern's fight. And the Gashadokuro, finally having taken everything it could from Typhon without eating him, turned its attentions towards the battle-ready king and queen, now even bigger than before.

"The Sins you've both fought have already taken a toll on you." Lantern stated. "You've yet to face any of the other ones. Your remaining servants are up in your castle, protecting your stronghold. Your oldest son is dead. Your other son and daughter are…I dunno, fighting with that Phantom asshole or something, but it involves Wrath and Envy so I'm fine with that. And I've got an army of Pandora's monsters at my side, plus your own, with plenty of my own power left to spare. To any sane person, it would seem that I've won."

Mandy opened her mouth, ready to retort, when Grim took a step forward and spoke instead. "Jack…every time you've messed with me you've come off worse for it. Be it your head or your place on Earth, you've always lost something. Dis is yer last chance to end this and keep what little you have left."

It was unclear whether the Reaper's words were a plea or a threat but Lantern's response would have been the same regardless. "This is all I have left, Grim." Lantern stated, gesturing to his metallic body. "I gave up every bit of flesh I had that wasn't needed, just for a chance to get the one thing I have left to gain: my revenge."

As if Greed and Gluttony knew what he was thinking, the Gashadokuro lifted its arm up high, ready to strike down Lantern's enemies.

"And I'm taking no more chances in getting it." Lantern stated.

The Gashadokuro brought its fist down upon its former master.

But it never touched him, as a hole exploded open in the Gashadokuro's chest by something cutting its way right through to get to the giant's hand.

Before the wide eyes of all around, Dragonslayer cut the Gashadokuro's skeletal hand right in half, its weight smashing through any of the bones in its way and forcing the giant to withdraw its limb.

"Alright…" Junior said as he held his sword at his side. "Where's the asshole who dropped a building on me?"

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** One more chapter to go before this little arc is wrapped up and then I promise real answers will start getting revealed (not all, of course, but some good ones). I'm a little burned out on fight scenes right now. But hey! Junior's finally here! It only took him most of the battle.

With Grim and Mandy both being pretty much unkillable, I figured Lantern and Pandora's revenges should rely on more than brute force. Lantern knows he can't kill Grim, so he wanted to force Grim into a position where the other Lords of Heaven and Hell would destroy Grim for him. And I can't imagine a fate worse for Mandy than being someone's love/lust-struck slave and having all the power be in that other person's hands, thus Pandora's revenge. She can't kill the immortal Mandy but she can humiliate her for all eternity. Well, could have, before Mandy gave her a fate worse than death.

Speaking of which, the door of infinite Billys comes from the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy episode "Five O'Clock Shadows", in which the three go to the shadow world. Before I started writing this story I re-watched the series online to help give me ideas and the door containing the shadows of every Billy across the multiverse was something I knew I had to work in somewhere. As well as the shadow world itself but that's for later in the story.

For those who don't know, the crystal ball with the red mist that Mandy grabbed off Pandora comes from the Danny Phantom episode "Control Freaks", used by the villain Freakshow to control ghosts. In that episode the crystal ball was not only too big to fit on a necklace but destroyed at the end of the episode, so how Pandora or at least the people who freed her from the box got ahold of another one remains to be seen. Though I doubt it's much safer in Mandy's hands.

Final thing, the Kevin and Rook cameo was something of a little challenge I like to do for myself sometimes. While I clearly don't hate the current Grim Tales comic by any means, there has been a bit of a dip in quality lately. With very slow pacing, the story jumping around between characters without finishing their parts, and, in Kevin and Rook's case, characters being introduced with seemingly no point to them. A few comments I saw in particular complained about how it doesn't make sense for the eleven-year-old Kevin to know Rook or for them to be in the Underworld at all to meet Chi in the bar. So, on a whim, I just decided, "Hey, let's see if I can come up with a reasonable explanation for why they're there." I wanted to add something to help break up this chapter a bit, so I decided to just throw them in there for a quick cameo, with the Ghost Zone thing being what I originally thought the story was going for.

* * *

 **QTP:** What was the deal with Junior's dream? What will happen to Daniela and Manny now that she's overshadowed him? Why the hell does Mandy have Billy's door from the Shadow World as a weapon? Where did Pandora get her hands on a copy of Freakshow's ghost controlling crystal ball? Between Pandora's Ghost and the Gashadokuro, what other monsters could Grim be responsible for creating? What happened to Lord Pain? How will Junior fight off Lantern, his monster army, and the Seven Deadly Sins?


	12. Out-of-the-Box Vengeance Part 3

**Part 12: Out-of-the-Box Vengeance Part 3**

 **Lord Razer:** Yeah. My original plan was just to have Pandora killed (since her immortality applies only to her age), but then I figured Mandy of all people would know that there are fates far worse than death and she'd want to send a message to anyone who'd ever think of trying to control her like Pandora did. I've so far haven't seen much of  Game of Thrones (I'm sure it is good, given how well loved it is), so I'll have to take your word for it exactly how much like Jaime Lannister Junior is (though as far as I know Jaime didn't have a thing for both his mother and sister (though Junior hasn't had any kids with his sister, so it would be an interesting debate over who is more messed up)).

 **desdelor97:** Thank you.

 **nightmaster000:** Thank you. Like I said, I'm going to try and get these out faster, be it every week or every other week. The new chapters might not all be for this story, some might be for the oneshot collection or the Justice League/PPGD story, but I figure as long as there's consistently something being uploaded (preferably something good) then it should be fine.

Interesting theory for Daniela and Manny. There was one other example of ghost on ghost overshadowing, which was when Sidney Poindexter overshadowed Danny while he was in human form. But that might have been an unusual case, given that the two then completely switched bodies and worlds for a bit. One thing I'm actually surprised never happened in the show was Vlad possessing Danny or vice-versa. That would certainly give a good idea of what happens when a halfa possesses another (because I will be flying wild on what the consequences are here).

To get Billy's door I think Mandy just went back to the Shadow World to get it (presumably years after Grim managed to stuff them all back in there).

 **Nikola the Einstein:** I'll need to remember the Foster's thing. It's a pretty good idea and would certainly fit with the Underworld's theme of embracing corruption (I believe these particular imaginary friends were called Extremeasaurs).

As to where Daniela and Manny would rank in terms of power, the closest person I could compare them to would be Danny Phantom himself (as in Dan's former past self). On the show, Danny could do everything that both Daniela and Manny can, but unlike them he never favored some of his abilities over others. Danny was a very balanced fighter, using a mixture of raw power and his more tricky abilities to win, like intangibility or invisibility. The way I've always thought of the twins, each one of them is just a little more than half the fighter Danny was. Manny might be physically stronger than Danny was at the same age and Daniela might have more control over her powers, but both are significantly lacking in the opposite areas. Together Daniela and Manny are something greater than Danny was, but on their own they'd have no chance against him. Hope that makes any sense.

And don't worry about me stopping the Junior-incest plot. Icky as it might be, I wouldn't have put something like that in the story if I didn't have a plan for it. And since I'm trying to speed up these chapter uploads, you should hopefully get to see how it plays out.

Never read Bones, unfortunately.

 **DarkDremora:** Wow, thank you! I genuinely blushed a bit while reading your review. I'm very flattered. Especially the editor comment, though I don't know if I'd have the discipline for it. I've fallen quite behind on a lot of the things I'm writing and Griddles, the former  Grim Tales editor, talks about the job quite a lot in the comments sections of each uploaded page (I even gotten to read some of the scripts he wrote when it seemed like Bleedman was going to hire him back). Still though, it's a very nice thing for you to say.

1.) Both of those certainly work.

2.) That would be quite the effective card to play, given Junior's current issues.

3.) A fail-safe is exactly what I'd call it, since if Grim hadn't managed to suck all the Billys back in, they very likely would have wreaked the castle and the Domain of Death far worse than Pandora's monsters could have.

4.) Probably.

5.) Fair enough.

6.) One of those guesses is technically right, but you'll see that in this chapter.

7.) That's certainly what I'm hoping this chapter comes across as.

As for the shipping, that's hard to say. I'm putting my other stories to the side for the moment to focus more on this one, so who knows what will happen? Though I'm still thinking about doing that Grim Tales Slasher story, so that's a possibly of shippable characters right there.

 **Emeraldalex123:** I think your wording was fine and I agree, Green Lantern was a really underrated movie (just messin' with ya, I know what you mean). As for the overshadowing thing, it was just something I just kind of thought "What would happen if this happened?" and it kind of just went from there. In the original show even Danny could be overshadowed as long as he was in human form, so I figured Daniela could do the same as long as Manny was human too.

I don't want to give too much away yet, but I will say that Billy, Grim and Mandy's Billy, is not locked behind the door with the other Billys. He's somewhere else (though his own shadow, the one with the helmet, is in there).

 **DPSS:** 1.) Something like that.

2.) Possibly, though do remember that in the original show, Vlad split Danny in half and then the ghost half did the same to Vlad, before overshadowing his ghost half. So it was two halves creating a new whole, while with Daniela and Manny…who knows what that is?

3.) Honestly, no, I cannot, save for whatever might scare a realm full of Billys.

4.) Ah, yes. The good old L.P.T.G.S.O.B.M.A.G. I can see them knowing how to deal with ghosts.

5.) I'd actually forgotten about Dullahans and now I really want to put them in somewhere. I used to watch a little bit of Durarara and, of course, I love me some Christopher Walken in Sleepy Hollow. I think they'll fit right in with the other creatures in Death's Domain.

6.) Okay.

7.) Well, because of Lantern's deal with Grim, it's a mystical legal mess as to whether Junior can actually eat his soul or not, but regardless Lantern's not going to have a fun time fighting him. That's for sure.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

"J-…Junior?" Grim said, while everyone around the newly arrived Reaper stared on just as stunned as he was.

"Hold." Lantern quickly gave the order, his army of monsters not the type to enjoy being startled. His eyes never left Junior. "Didn't I kill you?"

"Well, now I know for certain that you were never a real bounty hunter." Junior commented offhandedly. "Because even on my first day I knew well enough to _check for a damn body_."

"I thought I vaporized you!" Lantern defended.

Junior didn't respond back, ignoring the cyborg and taking the moment to look over his surroundings. _"This place has seen better days."_ He commented dryly to himself, taking note of the many discarded weapons and blood-stained armaments that he recognized as belonging to the Grimskull Armed Guard. What happened to all the actual troops was no mystery, with the horse-headed skulls of his mother's favored Tikbalangs mixed in with the litter of twisting Hydra necks, cracked Manotaur skulls, and remains of other creatures similar to those Lantern now had at his back. Why the giant Typhon was the only corpse with any remaining flesh (yet with no bones of its own) was a bit strange to him, but with the many hungrily snapping jaws of the Gashadokuro, it wasn't hard to piece together what'd happened.

Junior then felt around for what he couldn't see. _"Charles is still alive. Just seems unconscious at the moment. …Dan's here too? That's odd, but not horrible, I suppose. But he's fighting…fighting…what is that? It feels like…no, it feels more like…"_

"Dad, are you feeling this?" Junior asked, both his parents still behind him as he stood between them and the monsters.

"Feel? What are you talk-…" Grim started but cut himself off, his head slowly turning in the same direction as his son's. "…What in the world…?"

Mandy's foot tapped passive aggressively against the ground as she waited. "And for those of us that don't have Reaper Soul Senses…?" She asked impatiently.

"It's Manny and Daniela." Grim informed her, though not looking away from the nothing in the distance. "There's something wrong with them. …It feels like they're in a massive conflict with each other. And not just de fightin' kind."

Junior's grip tightened tensely around Dragonslayer's hilt. _"Daniela…what happened to you after I got knocked out?"_

"That's not that surprising," Mandy said to Grim. "Given that we've got three of the seven Sins missing from this little gathering Jack wants to throw at us."

"Sins?" Junior asked.

" _She means us, Junior."_ Lust said as she apparated before his face, causing Junior to nearly jump back, his eyes making him look almost terrified upon seeing the non-Ragdoll form of his sister. Lust, of course, did not fail to notice this. _"Oh?"_ She said, sounding rather intrigued as her eyes almost seemed to gaze right through him. _"I wondered why I felt this form was the one to choose from this era. Now I see. This form has significance to you. …Your heart hurts, doesn't it?"_ Lust placed her fingers upon Junior's chest. Though the massless form could pass through him at any moment, it still felt like Junior's chest was set ablaze by her touch. _"Because of how much you miss her. Because of how much you hurt her."_

Lust then gave a very perplexed look. _"And because…there's another? Hmm… Ohhhhh…! Well now…isn't that interesting?"_

Lust brought her hands back up, sliding them sensually along Junior's sweating face, bringing herself in closer until her lips were nearly kissing his ear. _"I looked into Mandy's heart too."_ She whispered lovingly, quiet enough so that the others couldn't hear her. _"Would you like to hear what she would think of this secret hidden in yours?"_

Junior felt his legs starting wobble and his vision starting to blur, his mind slowly slipping into blissful static.

He then felt himself thrown back to reality as both Mandy and Grim had grabbed him by the arms and pulled him away from Lust, whom looked greatly displeased over having another victim torn away.

"Back off, Lust," Mandy warned with a glare. "Unless you want to test your luck against my head again."

Eyes going wide at the mere memory of what she'd seen in the woman's mind, Lust instantly flew back to behind Lantern.

"Ya all right der, son?" Grim asked as Junior's head jerked roughly back and forth, the Demon Reaper panting heavily after having been overwhelmed so suddenly. Junior gave one look at Mandy and instantly ripped his eyes away, pulling himself out of his parents' arms to get back to his feet.

"I'm fine." He quickly lied. His head was pounding and he was still sweating, almost like he had a bad fever. And this was just from a few seconds of being under Lust's power, which Lantern had not failed to notice.

"Well, I wouldn't have expected Lust to be the one to hit you the hardest, Junior. But I suppose you are Mandy's son after all." He commented snidely. "Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the Bitch Tree."

Mandy held her gun out protectively. "You know, for someone who used to pride himself on his wacky, creative pranks, that was a pretty weak insult."

Grim stood beside her with his scythe ready. "The three of us against an army of monsters? Not de worst odds I've ever had."

"No!" Junior suddenly snapped, moving his hands to get them to back away.

"No?" Grim and Mandy asked in unison.

"Go get Daniela and Manny and then get back to the castle." Junior ordered firmly, though his panting form took away from the strength he was trying to project. "I'll handle things here."

"Absolutely not!" Grim said before Lantern could even get out his first surprised chuckle. "Junior, dese beasts have been tearin' apart our army all day and Mandy and I just barely fought off da Sins that tried to possess us! Dere's no way we're gonna let you fight four of dem on yer own, plus Jack O'Lantern and de rest of dis crap. It ain't happenin'!"

"Dad, just listen…" Junior tried to forcefully plea, but the look on Grim's face told him he wasn't going to budge on this.

But then Mandy stepped in. "Junior…why do you want to fight them on your own?" She asked calmly, surprising him.

It took Junior a moment before he answered back, as he was trying to avoid looking at his mother in a way that wasn't obvious. "…I can end this faster if I don't have to worry about holding back." Junior said, which was technically the truth. Whatever Lust had done to him it was still shaking him up badly and he could feel his concentration slipping. If he wasn't carefully he could easily lose control and let a certain…something…loose. The same something that nearly came out in his fight with the samurai and his previous bout with Lantern. _"But I might have a way of pushing it back down."_ Junior reminded himself to try and calm his fears about what could happen, especially with Mandy so close again. _"…just been a while since I've tried it…"_

"Junior…" Grim said, a bit softer, wanting to talk him out of this foolishness.

"I know, dad." Junior interrupted kindly. "I know you and mom can take care of yourselves. But because I know that, I need you to trust my reasons for doing this on my own."

Grim opened his mouth to speak out again but Mandy raised her arm to shush him. "Grim," She said, turning to her husband. "Take me back to the castle, preferably one of the balconies. Then go save Daniela and Manny from whatever crap Dan's involved them in."

"Mandy! He's our son! We can just leave him to-!"

"Now, Grim." Mandy said with a firm order, turning to walk away from the army of monsters. "And hurry up about it. I don't want to miss a minute of this."

Grim looked back and forth between his wife and Junior, anger and exasperation splitting his features in two, before finally and with great reluctance turned to follow Mandy, catching Junior's eye as he did so and pleading that he'd be alright.

"Did you do somethin' ta piss him off before he left that yer tryin' ta make up fer?" Grim whispered harshly to Mandy when he caught up with her, slicing open a scythe portal and picking up the arm of the unconscious Pandora's Ghost from where she laid to drag the giant woman behind him. "He hasn't looked at ya by choice since he got back."

Mandy gave a look back, studying the scene as Junior still stood with his back to them and his front towards Lantern and the monsters. If she had anything to comment about, she didn't share it with Grim, merely turning forward again and entering the portal, Grim following behind.

Hearing the portal close behind him, Junior felt the tightness in his chest start to almost immediately loosen, though he could still feel the burning red eyes of his mother staring down at him from the castle. "I'm surprised you didn't try and stop them." He commented to Lantern, trying to get his mind away from her.

Lantern shrugged casually, seeming completely unworried. "I know I can't kill them, Junior. That's why my plan is to make them suffer. And like I told you before, killing Grim's favorite son is a good place to start. Bringing their castle down on top of them is a good step 2."

"Looks like you've already gone through a few steps more than that." Junior remarked over the state of the battlefield, bloodstained with the colors of red and black (and a few bits of green from snot, Junior couldn't help but notice) and scars in the earth from all the previous conflict.

"Heh. Hell hath no fury like a woman whose friendship was betrayed, and I'm talking about both your mother and Pandora here." Lantern chuckled.

"Who's Pandora?" Junior asked.

"No one important. Though I'd recommend against opening that door over there, in case you get curious." Lantern said, pointing over Billy's Door a few yards away. Junior raised an eyebrow questionably but didn't say anything. "More importantly, are you ready to fight again? Because my beasts here are only going to be patient for so much longer."

"You're certainly in a big hurry to fight against someone who nearly ate you last time." Junior remarked. "Back-up must really be a confidence booster."

"I'm not too proud to admit that." Lantern retorted. "You gave me quite a scare last time but this time I'm ready. I've got Pandora's monsters, plus your father's hungry little collection here," Lantern gestured at the towering orange-tinted Gashadokuro; all the skulls practically drooling as the cyborg kept them waiting. "Along with the Sins and my own power, which I recharged on the way here. All this vs. you, who aren't exactly looking as hot as when we fought before."

Junior wiped the sweat off his brow, but then gave Lantern a confidence-filled smirk. "No. Not hot. Not yet." He smiled, his eyes giving a quick flash of red. "Tell me something, Lantern… I know this was a bit after your time, but did you ever watch this little show called _Dragon Ball Z_?"

Lantern gave Junior a peculiar, puzzled look. "Can't say that I have."

"Yeah, I don't blame you. It's not for everyone. Especially not these days with how toxic some of the fanbase can be. But as a kid, I ate that shit up." Junior rambled. "The weird characters, the action, and, of course, all the over-the-top attacks and transformations. Kaio-ken, Great Oozaru, Super Saiyans one through four. I think they even added a God-form recently. Isn't that something?"

"Is there a point to this?" Lantern asked impatiently.

"I'm getting there." Junior said calmly. "So as you can imagine, first time I got my powers, after the whole Demon Reaper incident had settled down, I wanted to have my own dramatic transformations. My own ways of leveling up at the last minute to turn the tables. …But the thing is, that's not really how my powers work, as I discovered. No, you see, my body's way of powering up works more like layers than levels. Each new layer building up on what the layer beneath it can do."

"Layers?" Lantern asked in confusion.

Junior nodded and held out his hand. The flesh covering it receded back on its own, stripping itself away from Junior's now bare white bones. "This, for example, is what I call Layer 1: my base Reaper form. The body I was born/aborted with. The body all my Reaper powers stem from, even if I couldn't figure out how to use any of them before the incident."

The Nergal flesh then re-covered his arm. "Now this is Layer 2: my Demon Reaper form, courtesy of my sister's right eye. Comes with all the basic Nergal shapeshifting and adaptability powers. But adding those onto my Reaper powers, I get abilities unique to me and me only. In this form I'm virtually unkillable, can create weapons that can tear people's souls from their bodies, and can even eat said souls to add onto my own power. As well as a whole host of other abilities."

"I know. We've studied you, remember? That's why me and the others figured you always stay in that form these day." Lantern said.

"That's half of it. The other reason is because the powers that came with this form took the longest to learn how to use without going berserk. The longer I spent in this form, the easier it was to control. And once I had this form under wraps, I was able to figure out how to add a few Layer 3's."

"3's?" Lantern asked, noting the plural.

"Well, not all at once. Then they wouldn't be 3's, they'd be more like Layers 3, 4, 5, etc." Junior explained away. "Layer 3's are more like alternate skins, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you really are made from remains of the Pumpkinator like you said, then you'll remember that giant rampaging monster I became when I first got my powers. I call that my Demon Reaper Beast form and it's a Layer 3. Incredibly strong. Incredibly durable. And able to reap souls by the thousands. Last time I used it was when Dan got in my way of collecting Bowser's bounty and we ended up fighting both each other and his army. Still pissed I never got to collect the price on his head."

Lantern seemed amused by this. "So that's your big plan to save the day? Another big Kaiju battle? For the record, that's what your father's little pet did to the last one." He said confidently, gesturing his large metal over to the many hill-sized remaining bits of Typhon, the pooling blood still creating more monsters to join Lantern's already sizable army.

"No, no." Junior said, still with a smile. "While my beast form is way strong, it takes forever for me to grow that much mass, thus why I had to steal bits of the Pumpkinator the first time just speed things up. And even then I lose a lot of speed being that heavy. No… The Layer 3 I'm thinking of is actually one I don't have a lot of experience with yet. In fact, I've only ever used it twice: once when I first got it, and when I needed to beat the guy who used to own this baby." Junior patted the hilt of Dragonslayer as it stood stuck in the ground. "…I'm curious how much more of a fight you'll put up than him?"

If he was physically able to Lantern would have smirked at the Reaper's little threat. As such, Lantern raised his arm up, ready to signal his army to attack. But as he did the cyborg noticed the strange mist wafting off it.

" _No…not mist…"_ He realized. It was steam. All the blood that'd been spilled on the battlefield was starting to evaporate into the air, confirmed by Lantern turning around to the Gashadokuro, easily the most blood-covered creature there, and seeing the massive clouds of hot fog whirling off its many bones. The black blood pools of Typhon's looked so much more like tar pits now, bubbling rapidly as it gave birth to screaming Harpies and Manotaurs, only for the beasts to collapse and die seconds later from the scalding pain.

"What in the…?" Lantern said, his internal systems telling him the surrounding temperature had jumped nearly 30 degrees in the last minute and was still continuing to climb. He quickly turned back to Junior, ready to blast him for whatever he was doing, but hesitated, both from shock and confusion. By the look of it the sudden heat was effecting Junior too. In fact, possibly even worse than everything around him.

The Reaper's body was shaking heavily in pain, his hands in front of his face as Junior's body emitted a horrible sizzling noise, with smoke pouring out of his boiling eyes and skin, like he was being burned alive from the inside. His breath was short, jerky, and strained, moving in rhythm with his body's twitches when the soles of his boots suddenly caught fire and consumed his feet.

"What…?! What the hell?!" Lantern yelled, nearly taking a step back along with the rest of his monsters.

" **Exactly."** Junior smiled darkly through his pain, his voice carrying a grizzled echo to it that didn't sound like him at all.

* * *

Dan panted heavily, practically laughing as he stood opposite his son/daughter combination, looking just as beat up as he was, if not more so.

"Damn, kid. I'm actually starting to regret some of the things I said earlier." He said as his fist wiped the blood away from his mouth, worn-down holes now in the glove around the knuckles. They'd found a nice little unoccupied area near the castle to do their fighting (or, to be more accurate, Daniela tackled him down into it) and, given the now many blast craters and blood spatters that covered the wasteland around them, it was clear how busy the ghosts had been with each other. "I didn't think I was going to have this much fun with you."

"Shut up and die." Daniela's voice said as another ecto-stream burst from Manny's hand. Dan held out his own hand calmly and caught the attack in his palm, closing his fingers around it as it ended and simply absorbing it.

This was a further sign that their battle was over. Dan had no problem admitting his kids had gotten some good hits in on him. Hell, he was proud even. His neck felt like it was going to be sore for a week and his arms felt like they were practically jelly after exchanging so many hits. But it was clear Manny's body was on the verge of collapsing. While she'd gotten far further than any other ghost Dan had fought in recent memory, Daniela skill and stolen power were not as great as Dan's own abilities, especially not when she was still fighting Manny internally to keep control of his body while their father pounded them into bloody paste during the fight.

'Normally I'd say something about learning to rely on your own natural abilities," Dan remarked. "But I think I can make an exception in this case. So, I'm going to let you off here and let you get some rest and we'll meet back up to fight in…what, a year? That work for you?"

"What?!" Daniela screamed, infuriated by this insult. "How dare you try and back out of this fight!"

"I'm not backing out, kid. It's just that if we keep going, you're going to die." Dan pointed out simply to Manny's bruised and beaten form. "Not exactly what either of us wants. But say I give you some time to actually train in your brother's body and get used to it, then I might have a bigger, better fight on my hands. Now doesn't that sound fun?"

"You already have a fight right here!" Daniela spat, holding out Manny's arms in a wide fighting stance, his fists glowing green. "And it's not over until you're dead!"

After a second, Dan closed his eyes and shrugged. "Alright then, kid. If you say so." He said, his fist curling and ready to attack.

But before the battle could begin again, a large wall of solid purple energy spread out from the ground between them, keeping the ghost's separate. The wall then moved flexibly on its own, moving towards Daniela at great speed and suddenly encasing her possessed form, trapping the twins inside a small doming force field.

"What?! What is this?!" Daniela's voice screamed as Manny's fists punched the dome, though with no effect. Dan was just as surprised as her, but the sudden appearance of Grim next to force field immediately explained everything.

"Oh…Daniela, what did you do?" Grim uttered quietly as he looked at his stepchildren through the dome walls, deeply concerned and clearly fearful at some implication of all this.

Dan floated over to the Reaper while the twins still struggled to free themselves. "Excuse me, but we were in the middle of something." He said, not caring so much that Grim had stopped the fight but more that he involved himself in general.

"Oh yes, sorry to interrupt you in the middle of beating yer two underage children while they're clearly not in der right minds." Grim said dryly without even looking back, too busy staring into Manny's glaring eyes and their shifting green and red colors, signaling the twins were still under the influence of Envy and Wrath. Holding out his scythe before him, a small hologram on his wife up on the castle's balcony shined off the weapon's blade. "Mandy, it's worse den I thought. The twins ain't just fighting with each other. Daniela is possessing him."

"What?" Mandy said, her voice more controlled than her husband's but her tone making it clear that she knew how bad this was. "…Alright, get them back up to the castle. Quickly. If we're going to separate them then we'll have to risk bringing the Sins in too. Thankfully it looks like Junior's going to provide our guests with plenty of distraction."

At Mandy's comment, Grim, Dan, and, once she'd hit the dome enough times to realize she couldn't break it, Daniela all looked over across the fields in the distance to where Junior stood facing the army of monsters.

"Why is Junior on fire?" Dan asked to obvious, squinting his eyes to make his rival out better.

"I see…" Grim murmured knowingly, his senses giving him a better understanding of the situation. "So dat's why he was so confident in fighting dese Sins and monsters."

"Why? What's he doing?" Dan demanded to know while his kids just stared out of the dome, strangely quiet now and almost mesmerized.

Off where he was Junior's pain was only increasing, causing him to start screaming in agony, only then to change after one long howl into unnerving mad laughter, as the glowing red sears started to tear open throughout his body, slowly revealing the burning bones underneath.

Lantern, finally realizing how taken aback and distracted he had become, turned to his army. "…Are you blind?! GET HIM!" He roared, ignoring his own faults in this.

There was a collected moment of hesitation from all the creatures to attack the insanely cackling Reaper as his burning hands clutched his face. The Chimeras and Manotaurs were the first to rush forward while the Harpies and Orthruses hid behind the Hydras for cover. Junior made no moves to fight off the creatures and he had no need to. The fist of a Manotaur was less than a foot away from his head when the beast violently exploded into flames, the suddenness of it actually causing Lantern to give a jump. A Chimera that got within the same distance met the same fate, as did every creature foolish enough to get close, until the littering piles of burning corpses served as enough of a warning to get the others to back off. In response to this Lantern ordered the Gashadokuro to attack. But this time it was not the skeleton beast that hesitated to attack, but the Sins beside it, evidenced by Lust and Sloth, whom Lantern now noticed were looking very frightened and backing away.

"A few years ago, one of the Hell realms rulers named Mephisto went missing." Grim explained to Dan as they both watched the scene. "This wasn't much of a big deal for anyone. Demons don't exactly make many friends and the other lords were happy to split his realm between demselves. De only point of concern for dem was how Mephisto went missing, as they wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen to dem too. The reason was never discovered, but a short time before he vanished, it was known that Mephisto was looking for a bounty hunter. One strong enough to take care of a problem he'd created by merging the soul of a human with that of a rival demon he hated, Zarathos. The Ghost Rider."

"Ghost Rider? I think I've heard of him before." Dan said. "He was another one of Earth's heroes, right? Well…more of an anti-hero from what I've heard. Spirit of vengeance, all about punishing the wicked. That was his bag, right?"

"More or less." Grim said, not taking his eyes of his son. "Once the other lords learned of dis bounty dey tried to find him too, but never did. And he was one of de few heroes to survive Megaville."

"So…what? The Rider took Mephisto out when he heard about the bounty he placed on him?" Dan guessed.

"Dat's one theory. But dem Hell Lords, who so love der betrayal stories, came up with another. Dat the bounty hunter Mephisto hired did indeed finish de job, only to betray him when Mephisto wanted the Rider's soul back in his possession before he paid. Be it dat de hunter knew the Rider's soul was too powerful to let Mephisto keep or dat he just wanted to keep it fer himself, it's not a hard theory to believe. And one dat now seems all but confirmed."

With one final defiant roar, Junior's entire body erupted into blinding white flames, so bright that even Lantern had to shield his eyes. When the flames died down, Junior still stood where he had been in the now nearly glass-like circle of sand. His body was no longer in pain, having completed his transformation.

No longer was there any black Nergal flesh covering his face. Underneath his dark hood was now only his smirking bare skull and the torrents of flames pouring out from under his jacket to cover his head and hands, having burned everything else away. Junior's knuckles cracked underneath his fingerless gloves, joining the sizzle of steam off his sword's hulking blade as the only sounds in the now silent battlefield. His one remaining bit of flesh upon his body, his grey right eye, glared out at the army surrounding him, all practically holding their breaths to see what he'd do.

" **Boo."**

It was nothing less than a tidal wave of fire that exploded forth, stopped only by Lantern blasting it down its center with two circular energy ports in his palms, the solid force causing the sea of flame to split in two as it flowed around the army. But where Lantern had fired, to his alarm, Junior was no longer there.

The flames circled around the entire legion of monsters, moving completely unnaturally as it boxed them in. Through the encompassed area was large, the beasts huddled together for safety, away from the walls of fire and close to Lantern as he tried to find where their enemy had gone.

From the other end of the circle, Junior's hand burst out of the flames, grabbing an unsuspecting Manotaur by the face and dragging him screaming into the flames with one solid jerk. Alerted by the noise, Lantern turned and fired quickly at the location, his monsters quickly sidestepping the blast. The flames in the area separated like before from the force, but again Junior was nowhere to be seen, nor was the captured Manotaur.

From the other side, two long metal chains burst out from the flames, the blades on their ends spearing through the skulls of a Hydra. The beast shrieked in its pain, but though it dug its claws into the ground, it too was dragged into the fire, this time with its fellow monsters able to see the tall creature burn.

This was enough for some creatures to forget any loyalty they had, with the able-bodied enough Harpies quickly taking off to the sky. Lantern screamed for the cowards to come back and fight, but as the words left his mouth, Junior had already leapt up into the sky to grab hold of one. With his scorching hands tightly binding her shoulders and his feet pressed to her stomach to hold himself, Junior vomited up molten flame from his mouth, incinerating the Harpy's screaming face instantly down to the bone. The other Harpies attacked back with their electro-whips, though those merely melted upon contact with the Reaper's blazing body.

Seeming almost amused by their attempts, Junior spawned the metal chains from his arms once more. The links moved serpent-like through the air, impaling the fleeing Harpies one after another, cutting through their armor like butter. Once he'd shish-kabobed them all, Junior held the chains tightly as gravity finally brought him back down. Moving out of the way of the Gashadokuro's sweeping attempts to grab him as he fell, Junior landed back in the flaming circle, and with a jerk of his arms, brought the many bodies of the Harpies brutally crashing down with him, killing them upon impact.

It was only a second of delay after he'd touched down, but once Junior's open palms touched the ground, several long black spears burst up from underneath, impaling and lifting up high the bodies of many monsters in his immediate range.

"Attack or get out of the way!" Lantern yelled, giving no other warning to the terrified beasts as the rocket launchers popped out of his arms and opened fire. The chains withdrawing back into his body, it appeared that Junior didn't even try to get out of the way. But when the rockets impacted Junior was suddenly nowhere to be seen.

Lantern then heard Junior's chuckling laugher from every direction. Not because of any echo. Lantern would almost think he was crazy to think such a thing but Junior seemed like he was moving around the circle of fire faster than he could even see. Every time he heard Junior's laugher in one direction, it then suddenly came out from another, shifting around too quickly for the cyborg to know where to shoot.

"Where are you?" Lantern bellowed in frustration, keeping his arms up in the vain hope of finding his laughing target. "Where the hell are you?!"

An extra flicker of bright flames appeared behind him. **"Here."**

For several yards Lantern was sent flying, his round orange body skipping and scraping across the rocky terrain before finally coming to a stop inside the wall of fire. For the time he was trapped in there, all Lantern could see was blinding red and yellow colors; the flames burning so intense that even though his thick shell, the few organic bits of him that remained could feel the heat, like they were being roasted inside an oven. For the first time since he'd gained his robotic form, Lantern could feel actual pain.

Acting more out of panic than any sort of true plan, Lantern's rockets managed to blast him out of the flames, throwing him several feet outside the circle. How long he'd been tumbling around in there, he couldn't say, though it couldn't have been too long or his damage would have been far worse, much as he hated to admit it. Thankfully for the moment it seemed that the extent of his injuries were merely a partially melted left foot and, though he couldn't see it, the melted imprint of a skeletal hand on his back from Junior's sudden shove.

Over the walls of fire, the only one of his creatures Lantern could see was the towering Gashadokuro, though the occasional flailing head of a Hydra told Lantern all he needed about the slaughter that was still going on inside the circle. _"He's moving too fast for it to be scythe portals."_ Lantern tried to think the problem through as he listened to his monsters scream. _"…The flames! It's got to be the flames!"_

"Greed! Gluttony!" He called out to the Gashadokuro. "Blow it all away!"

At his command, the many thousands of the giant's skulls unleashed their wind breaths from all around its body, the tempest easily blowing away the raging fires, though shredding a good number of the box's monsters in the process. Those losses were of little concern to Lantern. What was important was that with the flames gone, the Gashadokuro's winds had blasted Junior out of hiding, his burnt skeleton body flying across the opposite end of the battlefield.

" **Hrmm."** Junior grunted as he picked himself off the broken ground where he'd landed, his body's flames being quick to reignite. Looking up he could see that he was in clear view of the Gashadokuro's empty stare, his bright body kind of sticking out amongst the barren wasteland. **"…I need a new ride. Hmm…"**

While Junior looked uncaringly around the battlefield, the Gashadokuro was quick to strike, blasting him with a blazing stream of air from its main mouth, not wanting to risk Junior cutting its hand again. The wind blast hit the area dead-on and yet had missed Junior, the giant quickly turning its massive skull over to the sudden bright spot near the castle's base, where the teleporting Reaper now stood.

" **You'll do."** Junior stated as he picked up the large horned skull of a fallen Manotaur, its flesh having been completely stripped away by the Gashadokuro's swarming skulls when it had still been under his father's control.

Upon his touch a dark red color started spreading over the skull, starting from Junior's palm. The Manotaur's many other scattered bones flew up from where they laid in the dirt, reforming themselves in their proper structure before being bound back together by the layers of thick muscle tissue that then started to grow out around them. As the beast's reanimation caused it to grow and lift the Reaper up higher, Junior still not letting go of its skull as he stood atop the Manotaur's back and shoulders like a gremlin, skin and shaggy black fur finally covered its bare, exposed features and the beast took in a pained, ragged breath.

"Where…? Where am I?" Biceptor asked fearfully, his eyes still torn apart from Lord Pain's previous assault. "Why…why can't I see?!"

Ignoring the beast's words and clear terrified confusion, Junior whipped his chain around Biceptor's neck and pulled back tight. The glowing hot metal links cut into Biceptor's throat and burned it fiercely, causing him to scream. From his throat Biceptor could feel the heat from the burning chain spreading out through the rest of his body, before the flames finally erupted out of his eyes, mouth, and hooves as his tormented scream turned into a monstrous roar.

" **HYAH!"** Junior whipped the chain in command and Biceptor, with no apparent trace of who he was before, obeyed, rushing his hulking body forward as his hooves left a burning trail behind them.

The Gashadokuro met Junior's challenge head-on, it's lower body moving like a landslide to intercept them. Biceptor did not change his course, still charging right for the titan as Junior leaned over and yanked Dragonslayer out of the ground as they passed. When they finally came to the bouncing skulls and flying bones, Junior and his Hell Steer crashed fearlessly into the wave, brusting through the whiteness and then kept going. Not through the giant's body but rather up it.

Like a salmon up a waterfall, Biceptor bounded his way up the Gashadokuro's length on all fours, the heat blazing off his hooves and hands melting craters into the areas of biting bones as they went.

Junior had no trouble hanging onto the Manotaur's rocking body, even with only one hand gripping the chain leash. And as he and his steer ran up past the giant's composite skull and the non-melted bones twisted off into separate swarms to try and grab them, Junior kicked himself off the beast's cooked back, gaining some air and sacrificing Biceptor to the skeleton, the resurrected Manotaur having fulfilled his purpose.

Almost like Dragonslayer was moving in slow motion as Junior let it fly up into the air, Nergal flesh grew out from the marrow of the Reaper's flaming bones to shape itself around the iron sword. The flesh working quickly, Dragonslayer was shaped into a new, far more powerful weapon. Where once it'd been a colossal sword, it was now the massive blade of a thick Nergalized scythe, its dense staff standing nearly twice as long as Junior was tall.

With his grip tight on his new weapon and with a single cry of battle, Junior brought the scythe crashing down upon the Gashadokuro, the superheated blade turning all the bones it cut through into practically melting hot lava. All the way down the giant's form he went, cutting a molten sear down the Gashadokuro's middle that spilled over across the bones of the rest of its body. By the time Junior had reached the end of its spine, half the skeleton's mass had melted away, and once the scythe's blade struck into the ground, it was an explosion of volcanic fire more powerful than even Typhon's dragon heads had created. The raging inferno consumed the Gashadokuro's remaining bones, incinerating them into white powder almost instantly and forcing Greed and Gluttony to finally abandon the finished creature.

Save for the crackles of the fire, it was almost total silence as neither Lantern and any of his remaining monsters dared to move, all standing in complete stillness as the Gashadokuro's ashes snowed down upon them and Junior merely watched the fire burn, almost mesmerized. It was only when the Chimeras and the Orthruses started to slowly and carefully back away did Junior finally turn his attentions back to them.

" **No. No one escapes."** Junior stated as his single eye turned from grey to a solid bright red. From his entire body, not just his arms, Junior's bladed chains burst out, impaling their way through the bodies of the now fleeing monsters whom now knew for certain they had no chance. The chains tore out their souls cleanly, the monsters' remaining carcass bursting into flame and ash upon the chains ripping through them. The souls screamed as the chains pulled them into Junior's body, but the sharp breath of power the Reaper took gave him all the encouragement he needed to keep sending more.

* * *

… **Aku City: The Royal Palace…**

Mimi tossed and turned fiercely in her bed, before finally being jolted awake in an ice-cold sweat.

It was Junior, that much was certain. In her dream she had seen him, or at least sensed him amongst the chaos of it all. What else had she seen was hard to remember. All that redness and fire. And so much pain. So much madness. But was it happening now? Or was it an event still to come? Ever since the Red had left her, her psionic powers had trouble staying bottled up, as they no longer had to constantly work to contain the essence, and the flashes of things she saw were too strong for her to comprehend all at once.

But one thing was certain, she thought as she shifted her legs over the side of the bed. Something bad was going to happen and it heavily involved Junior.

Her feet touched down on the carpeted floors, Mimi's legs strong as she was ready to get up and go find him.

But then she felt the weight of her belly as she tried to stand, stopping herself and looking down at the pregnant bulge that encompassed most of her lower body.

A familiar conflict of emotions rushed through the long-haired woman. She still wanted to go. She still wanted to help her friend. But the sudden fear of what could happen if she went... Both to her child…and quite possibly to her, as she remembered…remembered what she couldn't go through again…

There was a knock at the door and Chi slid it open. "Hey, Mimi. I've got some soup. Jeff figured that with all that happened earlier-…" She then cut herself off, seeing her wife sitting on the edge of their bed with her arms held around her stomach and crying silently. "Oh no." She quickly set the bowl and tray down on the dresser beside the door and hurried over to Mimi, sitting down and wrapping her arms around her protectively. "Shhh. It's okay, Mimi. I'm here."

Mimi turned her frame slightly and hugged her back, it practically having become a reflex at this point after how often her beloved had come to comfort her, be it from a sudden panic attack or another night terror.

"…Was it another vision? About Junior?" Chi asked after giving Mimi a chance to get some of the tears out of her system.

Against the pink fabric of Chi's robe, Mimi nodded her head.

Chi held her wife a little tighter in response, trying to comfort her as well as herself. "Maybe it doesn't mean anything." She suggested hopefully. "Your powers have sent you plenty of visions about Junior before, the last one only about a month ago, and we saw for ourselves just today that he was fine. So maybe it's nothing to worry about."

Mimi tilted her head up to Chi, and from the look in her eyes, she believed those word about as much as Chi did, which was to say not very much.

"But…I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea regardless to make sure we're keeping tabs on him. Make sure that if he needs help we can give it to him." Chi relented a bit, which thankfully helped Mimi's features to lighten their gloom a bit. "I'm not going to abandon him, Mimi, I promise. I owe him too, remember? It's because of Junior that I'm able to hold you like this. That we're going to be able to have a family together."

Mimi's face fell slightly further back into her sadness, with her now pressing her body further into Chi's arms.

"…You're not a coward, Mimi." Chi told her gently, recognizing the familiar look of guilt on her face. The same guilt that'd passed over her features when Junior left the palace earlier that day. "There's nothing cowardly about not wanting to suffer anymore. There's nothing cowardly about not wanting to go back into the world your bastard father put you in."

After a few seconds, Mimi held tighter around Chi's waist and leaned up to kiss her.

"I love you too." Chi said, kissing her back.

* * *

"Love him to no end but I swear dat boy be showin' off at dis point." Grim commented as they watched Junior make short work of all the remaining monsters from Pandora's box.

"What else do you do with power?" Dan asked, though still not looking away from the scene. "Jeez, I can't tell if I should be angry with me for holding out me or entertained by the show he's putting on."

Grim gave the ghost a look of interest. "You've never seen Junior use this form before?"

"Hell no. The most power I've ever seen him bring out is that big form of his he had when we first met. Don't get me wrong, it's still plenty strong, but I've never gotten to test myself out against this bad boy."

"I don't think I'll ever understand fools like you." Grim expressed, fairly unconcerned. "Alright, Daniela, Manny. Let's get you to up to da c-!"

It was a massive boom that sent both Grim and Dan tumbling back as the energy dome exploded open. As the smoke cleared and the noise caused their ears to ring, Grim looked up just in time to see the Daniela-possessed Manny flying off towards Junior.

"How? How did she break through the shield?!" Grim exclaimed in panic as he and Dan stood back up.

"I think…I think I saw him…her…making clones inside the dome. Maybe she made enough to push their way out?" Dan suggested, rubbing the back of his sore skull.

"Dere's no way. Dis same shield protected us from a blast by Typhon earlier. Dere's no way she could have broken it by just making too many of herself to contain. She couldn't even have…" But Grim stopped himself, finally realizing what Daniela had done. "My word…she phased into it."

"You made an energy shield to contain a ghost that can be phased through?" Dan said with a snort. "Gee, where could the faults in that plan possibly be?"

"Not through it! Into it!" Grim repeated. "She sacrificed a clone into the shied so that she could escape."

"I don't follow."

"Two objects cannot occupy de same space at de same time." Grim explained, remembering how he felt the shield shatter from a single wide point that he'd lost all control over. "Even my energy shields are solid enough to be bound to dat simple rule of physics. Daniela's clone must have phased into it and den gone solid. She and de shield couldn't exist in de same space at once so they destroyed each other. …But de amount of control she'd need to have over her intangibility in order to flow with the energy of de field…and de amount of power she'd need to have just to keep going until dat point…" Grim carried over into silence. _"Dat was something Daniela could have never done just on her own. She's adapting too well to Manny's body and if we don't separate dem soon…"_

Dan seemed less worried. "Heh. That's my boy! …Girl. …Kid. …Kids. …Whatever."

* * *

Junior's soot covered tongue licked his exposed teeth, having just finished feeding on the soul of the final monster. Which meant he only had one target left…

Junior turned jerkily to look towards Lantern. Upon the Reaper setting his eye upon him, Lantern quickly started to crawl backwards on his back in fear to get more distance between them. Junior was unbothered by this, seeming to be in no real hurry to tear the cyborg apart. He walked at a calm pace after Lantern, holding the staff of his scythe horizontally across his waist in both hands with its blade pointed up above his head, to keep it from scraping across the ground.

As Junior caught up with him, Lantern raised his palm up, ready to blast him away, but found himself hesitating; frozen as he looked up upon Junior's cold burning face.

With his prey too afraid to make a move, Junior lifted the four hundred pound scythe up high as he took aim at Lantern's chest.

A blast of ectoplasm then smacked against the back of his hood, getting Junior to turn his head to see what'd bothered to do so.

Standing right behind him, her twin's hand still steaming, was Daniela, staring daggers at him while her emotions twisted Manny's face into a rage and contempt-filled grimace. "You dare…" She uttered, breathing hard as the Sins forced out more of her anger. "You dare show up now, when the battle is nearly over, and steal the glory that was supposed to be mine?! And where did you get all this sudden power?! Couldn't have been bothered to share it with me though, could you?! No! You just wanted me to stay on as your weak little fangirl! Make you feel so much more superior, huh?! Well you're not!" She screamed before blasting him again. The most damage the hit did being the bit of extra smoke it created when it struck the flames of his unflinching body. But one look at the ghost's flashing green and red eyes told Junior everything he needed to know.

Junior dropped the scythe into the ground, the blade striking between the startled Lantern's legs and just inches from his crotch, before walking over to his siblings, not saying a word. With Wrath and Envy causing her to view this silence as an insult, Daniela lunged at him aggressively to attack. Manny's possessed fist struck Junior's chest, with no effort of defense against it by the Reaper. Not that he needed to, as it clearly didn't hurt. It wasn't until the fifth or six punch that Junior finally grabbed the teen's arm to stop it, striking them across the face with his own skeletal fist, causing Manny's mouth to spit up quite a decent amount of blood from the force.

Slightly off balance by the strong hit, Daniela tried to attack again but Junior merely kept hold of Manny's arm and punched her, spending the next minute wordlessly beating the teen's face until Daniela finally stopped trying to fight back.

When he was done, Junior used Manny's arm to lift the rest of the bloody body up to see his face. **"Get out."** He ordered evenly. **"Or I burn you out."**

A difficult but still smug smirk spread across Manny's split lips. _"You wouldn't dare."_ Said three voices in synchronization; one Daniela's and the other two the Sins', having gained enough influence to talk through the teen _. "Not while we still have your siblings."_

With hardly a second of hesitation, Junior released his grip around the arm and placed his wide hands at the sides of Manny's head. While the burning palms did of course cause great discomfort to them, it was unclear what Junior was actually doing.

That was until they felt the heat. The intense burning welling up from Manny's stomach and flowing through the rest of the shared body, causing the orange glow of his muscles to be seen from beneath his skin.

All four of them, Manny included, had their screams shrieking out of the single mouth. Whatever fire Junior had lit within their body, it was no ordinary flame. Even as its black-tinted flickers started to flare above Manny's skin, it was not burning away any of the flesh to keep itself lit. It seemed all the flame needed to thrive as the pure agony it caused the four beings, and as the black flames travelled to consume the ghost boy's entire body, it had plenty of pain to create.

By the logic of their panicking minds, or even by just pure instinct, the Sins knew that there was only one real choice to release themselves from this pain of being too close to a mortal body, and as such, they released their hold over Daniela just enough to allow her to change Manny back to his human form. At such time the two teens were violently split apart and knocked away from Junior's grasp by the sudden force.

Daniela and Manny bounced roughly on the ground as they fell away from each other, the black flames having thankfully dissipated when they split. Manny was the first to lift his head up, though barely able to focus on anything simply due to the sheer pain his body was in and the unrelenting pounding of his skull. Looking around, his vision slightly blurred, Manny could see Lantern a few feet away, still lying on his back and looking just as shocked and confused as he was. When he looked to see the motion of the being standing between him and Lantern, that last thing Manny saw was a flaming white fist smashing his face against the ground, knocking him out cold.

Whether it was the noise or simply now having gathered enough strength to do so, Daniela lifted her head up as well, the eyes of her less beaten body going wide as she saw the tall burning skeleton walking from her unconscious twin over to her.

"J-Junior?" She stuttered from down on the rough ground, not knowing herself how she somehow knew it was him underneath all that flame.

Saying nothing, Junior lifted his foot up and brought the sole of his boot down hard against her face, taking her out of the battle as well.

From the twins' sides Wrath and Envy floated on up, both glaring in frustration at Junior as they saw nothing within the Reaper that they could yet use to their advantage. They even looked towards Lantern for possibilities, but as he still lay cowering on the ground, it was clear he was to be of little help.

In place of the non-stop aggression he'd been showing since he'd arrived, Junior was now strangely calm, looking at his envious doppelganger with curious interest. But that moment of peace was soon to pass, as Dan suddenly arrived at his side, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Jeez, Junior, you've really been holding out on me." He commented as he nonchalantly leaned on the Reaper's shoulder, seeming more amused than anything by the bodies of his two kids blacked out on the ground and paying no attention to Lantern. "Now tell me the truth, with this much firepower, why haven't you used it in our fights? Maybe it wouldn't be much but it certainly could have helped you during those times when I had you up against a wa-!"

Faster than the eye could see, Junior turned and brought his clenched fist crashing upwards into Dan's chest, creating a small shockwave of air and causing the ghost to vomit up an obscene amount of blood as every one of his ribs exploded.

" _Did I just see his fist?"_ Lantern mechanical eyes widened as the point of impact stretched out like rubber behind Dan's back without breaking through.

It was a sickly mushy noise as Junior pulled his hand out. Dan took a few steps back, his arms clutching his chest as his face twisted and twitched from the pain, barely even able to make a noise out of his gaping, bleeding mouth. It was only by the pure instinct to fight back that Dan managed to roar with his Ghostly Wail, the devastating attack striking Junior at point-blank range. But the most the green scream amounted to was blowing the flames of Junior skull back before the Reaper cracked his palm against the apple of Dan's throat, instantly silencing him as he choked on the hit.

Bashing his forehead against Dan's face, Junior caused the ghost to fall to the ground. Startling Lantern, the Nergal flesh of the Dragonslayer scythe moved on its own, ripping its blade out of the ground and flying back into Junior's hand. Grip on its staff tight, Junior made sure the fearful Dan was watching as he lifted the weapon up above his head.

Junior brought it down with one swing.

Dan's eyes clamped shut, not wanting to see his end.

But the end didn't come. After a few seconds passed and he still felt no sudden split of his skull, Dan carefully peaked open his eyes, his lids tearing open as he saw the point of the oversized scythe hanging an inch above the bridge of his bloody nose. Slowing gazing his sight over the blade to Junior's darkly smirking skeletal face, Dan watched as the Reaper pulled the scythe away.

" **Heh. Wuss."** Junior chuckled as he moved over to Dan's side and kicked him out of the way, like a bag of old garbage.

Watching Dan's tumbling body, Junior finally noticed someone he hadn't before, his father, Grim, kneeling over the bodies of Manny and Daniela. Like Dan, he also ignored Lantern's presence, though he saw nothing to be impressed by in the children's condition.

" _Dat black fire Junior used didn't leave any physical injuries. Though I can't say he didn't try to make up de difference."_ Grim commented grimly as he checked their bodies, breathing a sigh of relief that he could still feel their pulse. _"It certainly worked out, but… Junior, you didn't need to go dis far to split dem apart."_

Grim's attentions were brought back up by Dan's tumble ending at his feet. "…Your beating I can live with." Grim remarked uncaringly as Dan lay next to his children; bruised, beaten, and with his shattered pride unable to comprehend what just happened. Looking to perhaps understand some other reason for his son's sudden brutality, Grim turned to look up at him. But when he did, all he found himself noticing was the odd way Junior was looking back at him. Something that seemed to perk Envy's attention as well.

" _Oh?"_ The Sin paused with an inquiring look at how hesitant and forcefully restrained the burning Reaper now looked.

" _What is it? What do you see?"_ Wrath quickly asked his brother.

Envy smiled devilishly. _"An opportunity."_

The Sin glided his way over to Junior's side, the Reaper finally having a proper reaction of off-put bewilderment upon seeing the face of his eleven-year-old self on an enemy. Envy moved to speak into Junior's ear, causing Grim to hold his scythe defensibly in front of himself, knowing from his own experience dealing with the Sins what was about to happen.

" _You want what he has, don't you?"_ Envy whispered, too quiet for Grim to hear him. _"What you deserve more than he does. Look at him. So frail. So feeble. So weak. He doesn't deserve the hand of someone like Mandy. To share the same throne and bed as her. Not like we do."_

Like with Lust, Junior felt his vision starting to blur, but instead of the world around him fading into blissfulness it started to narrow, forcing all his attentions on Grim, something Junior shook his head jerkily to try and shake off, like fighting back a sneeze almost.

"Junior…" Grim stood up carefully, holding his hand out with an easing gesture. "Junior, it's going to be okay. You can overpower de Sin's influence wit a stronger emotion, or even channel it into somethin' to fight fer you, like I did. You don't have to let it control you."

" _Listen to him talk! Giving advice to you like he knows better!"_ Envy spat. _"Your power is greater. You're more deserving. And with him out of the way…there's no one to stop you from taking what's rightful yours, is there? Your throne. Your woman."_

Among the orange flames of his twitching skull, a light of green flashed across Junior's red eye. He could feel the flames hardening his bones, cooking them as his hands started to feel more and more like hot sharpened metal.

After another flash of envy, Junior pulled back his scythe at his side, aiming it at Grim, now very much alarmed.

"Junior…" Grim tried to fearfully ease him back. "Junior, just listen…"

With no sense of the words having reached him, Junior threw his scythe forward with a mighty slash; Grim only throwing up his own scythe's staff to block it on reflex, as he'd already seen how much physically stronger his son was than him.

But curiously, even though its swing clearly made its full arc, the giant blade never touched him. Certain he was just imagining things, Grim quickly felt around his chest and robe, trying to find where the cut was but coming across nothing. Look at Junior as he questioned what'd just happened, Grim's answer appeared right behind him, as he sensed one of the few things that only the true ruler of this realm could.

Right behind him a large swirling portal had been torn open, its size easily matching something the Dragonslayer blade could create. Thankfully or not, Grim didn't need to worry about anything coming out of it to attack him, as in fact the portal became a powerful vacuum of the area, sucking up everything immediately in front of it with its powerful winds.

The limp bodies of Daniela and Manny were the first to fly in, followed by the still conscious, but in far too-sorry-of shape to fight back, Dan. Grim was next, as even the digging of his scythe into the ground couldn't keep his lightweight bone body out forever, and the Grim Reaper fell quickly into the portal.

It seemed as soon as he went through Grim felt his back slamming against a hard brick floor, while the portal closed shut above him. His head in a slight daze from the landing, Grim's empty sockets opened wide as he saw Mandy standing in front of him. "Fancy seeing you here." She commented.

Grim quickly looked around, recognizing the castle around them. "Junior…teleported us up to de balcony?" He realized.

"Seems like our son felt it'd be easier to fight off whatever envious feelings the Sin was bring out if you weren't there." Mandy theorized evenly as she activated the communicator under her armband. "I need a medical team up on the top floor balcony, Southside. We've got heavy injuries." She ordered, glancing over at the pile of Daniela, Manny, and Dan.

Grim, standing up and brushing off his robe now that there was a moment of calm, said "Envious of me? Jeez, dat Sin musta done some seriously deep digging ta find dat. Even I don't envy de life I've had."

Mandy gave a noncommittal shrug and turned her attention, along with Grim's, to back over the balcony's edge, to where far down below the castle's mountain the action was. To where Junior still stood with the Sins in the visible distance.

" _You think putting some space between you will help?"_ Envy asked, laughing confidently as he could still see Junior struggling under his power.

" _It's certainly what he's been doing for years."_ Lust commented, bringing a smile to both her face and Envy's as Junior took a quick step back from her as she flew up from where she'd been hiding. _"Left home at the age of just sixteen and spent the next fourteen running from what he really wanted."_

" _What he deserves."_ Envy added knowingly. _"You've justified it to yourself a few times, haven't you, Junior? This is the Underworld after all. There's nothing wrong with an incestual desire down here. And besides, who else could be a worthy enough mate for you?"_

" _Well…I did see one or two very delicious thoughts about a certain blond sister of his."_ Lust giggled. _"Some of them made almost made even me blush, given my lovely little form right now."_

Junior angrily ripped his scythe through both Sins, but they just laughed as the blade passed harmlessly through their gaseous forms. Though that didn't stop him from trying a few more times, just out of frustration.

" _As much as I love what I'm finally seeing, that won't do you any good."_ Wrath said as he floated to join the other two. _"The Rider may have the power to punish evil but even it can't harm us when we're not acting through someone else."_ Junior gave an animalistic snarl, though that only seemed to make Wrath even more confident.

" _Why not have both Minnie and Mandy?"_ Gluttony suggested as he hovered around the group like a blimp. _"Then maybe go back to Aku City. Get Ikra in on this. Then Chi and Mimi. And if their baby turns out to be a girl, well then that's another we get to have. Think about it: how many would say no?"_

" _Gluttony, sometimes I remember how much I love your overindulgence."_ Lust complemented.

" _Me too."_ Greed stepped in. _"And there be no reason to stop there. The bigger de harem, de bigger de kingdoms, de more plentiful de offspring. Why not take as much as we can get?"_

" **Get back!"** Junior warned, though with great effort as the screeching music of Sloth's clarinet passed through his ears and rapidly sapped his strength and will, making it much easier for the other Sins to exert their influence.

" _Lust."_ Wrath spoke, being the least occupied as it was near impossible to bring out rage while Sloth was using his power. _"You're the one who had the most immediate and powerful effect on Junior when he first arrived. Does he have anything else he's burying?"_

Lust gave her fellow Sin a mischievous smile, catching the others' invested attention as well. _"As a matter of fact, there is. Or at least seems to be."_ This provoked a horrified reaction out of Junior, which only encouraged her to continue. _"When I was in his head earlier, I could tell there was something Junior was keeping hidden in the far back of his mind. Something he doesn't like to think about. I couldn't quite tell what it was but it was so filled with love and yet almost overflowing with shame that there's no way it could have escaped my notice."_

There was a clamor of excitement from the other Sins, with Envy in particular saying _"Well don't keep us in suspense, Lust. We want to know too. We deserve to know."_

Lust happily complied, floating over and wrapping her ethereal arms around Junior's neck.

" **Don't."** Junior begged, such an odd thing to come from a form as fierce and powerful as his current one.

" _There's no need to be afraid of what you really want, Junior."_ Lust smiled sweet, though her tone of evil apparent, as she kissed him.

The connection into the Reaper's mind was almost instant, the power of the Ghost Rider being the most resistance that she faced, as all their talk of Junior's regrettable memory had brought it floating almost right up to the top of his subconscious.

Entering the memory was little diving into a cold pool. Everything was muddied and thick but little trouble for the Sin to see what was around her, the little there was.

Hundreds of fallen and snapped trees, mixed with the deeply scarred ground, some bits with clear claw marks etched in. This area had once been a thick, healthy forest, though now destroyed beyond all recognition. And in the center of all this destruction was Junior, looking only slightly younger than he was currently; kneeling amongst the debris and weeping heavily over something in his arms. It took a moment before Lust could tell what it even was, but when the time came she realized the person in his arms looked like her. Which was to say it looked like Minnie, but just barely.

" _Huh. I would have bet money that this was about his mother, not her."_ Lust remarked to herself. _"Though I can certainly see where the regret's coming from."_

Minnie had been horribly ripped apart, with what little blood her ragdoll body held leaking in drips out from her missing lower half. She had large chunks taken out of her chest and face, leaving only her left side more or less intact, as her eye stared up tearfully into the right one she'd given Junior so many years ago.

"Minnie… Minnie, I didn't… I didn't mean to…" Junior sobbed, his tears splashing against her face.

With great effort, Minnie lifted her remaining hand up to touch her brother's cheek. "It's okay… It's not your fault." She said softly, trying to sooth him, even in spite of her clear racks of pain and the wetness coming down from her own eyes. "It's not your fault."

The world of the memory started to disorient and all around Lust the colors of the land blackened into pure darkness, save for the sky, which started to bleed red across its vastness from a single point, stopping only when the black void of the land reached up and smothered it all.

For a moment, Lust seemed trapped in nothing but eternal blindness.

And then, something grabbed her.

Lust jerked away from Junior's face, releasing herself from his mind.

" _Well?"_ Wrath asked impatiently. _"What did you see?"_

For the longest moment, Lust didn't say anything. _"…We've made a horrible mistake."_ She spoke, her lips quivering.

" _What?"_ Envy said, speaking for the rest of the confused Sins.

Lust turned sharply towards them, her expression nothing less than pure panic and fear. _"Run! Just run!"_

Junior's hand shot out at her, grabbing the Sin by the back of the head. Tightening his grip around her, molten white cracks and sears rapidly tore their way through Lust entire body as she screamed in bloody agony, seconds before she exploded.

The noise echoed throughout the field as it passed over the now horrified other Sins.

" _He can touch us?! That's not possible!"_ Gluttony screamed. _"Wrath, you said he couldn't touch us!"_

As if replying to some challenge to the Sin's words, Junior drove the Dragonslayer scythe's blade through Gluttony's wide gelatinous belly, holding the screaming Sin pinned in the air as the metal glowed hot and Gluttony's body started to inflate like a balloon, before soon bursting just like one.

" _Holy shit…"_ Envy stammered as he watched the few remaining bits of his fellow Sin flutter to the ground, still burning like leaves. Junior turned his attention to the rest of them and unlike before, there was no hint of any of their influences on his cold murderous face. As the flames consuming his bones seemed to kick up higher, his very footsteps leaving behind molten prints in the rock, the only bit of color that burned brighter than the Reaper's body was his solid red eye peering through the fire.

" _Envy! Do somethin'!"_ Greed yelled at him as Sloth played his harsh melody for the Reaper, trying to sap his strength again but to no effect. Not even able to slow him down anymore. _"Ye had influence on him before!"_

" _It won't do any good."_ Wrath stated, looking just as nervous as the others but with an air of knowing about him. _"He's beyond what you and Sloth can do to him now."_

Were it not for the current situation Envy would have been greatly offended. But when he saw that it was himself that Junior was headed for, the Sin knew he had to try something anyway. _"Junior, please. I've seen inside your mind. You and I know you deserve more. You deserve both Mandy and Minnie's love! And with what I saw inside Daniela's mind, I know you can have even more! You can have all you want, you just have to acknowledge that it's you who deserves it! Nobody else!"_

Junior finally stopped in his tracks, for a moment getting Envy to think he might now have a chance. But as Junior looked his younger self in the eye, he breathed **"I have what I deserve."**

As soon as his empty sockets made connection with the Reaper's single eye, Envy felt himself falling into its fire. All around him, all Envy could see were the many thousands of tragedies sparked by his influence, by what he represented. The death of Desdemona at the hands of her tricked husband, Othello. The suffering Hera brought down upon Hercules, punishment for the mere act of being born from her husband's affair. Uranus shoving his children back into Gaia's womb, for taking her attention always from solely him. Junior's ranting screams at Minnie during the final moments of her pre-ragdoll life, for daring to be more gifted than him and saving his life. For all this and more, Envy burned.

His bones sizzled and popped as flames poured from his open mouth and eyes, muffling the Sin's screams as he faded into fire, snuffed out once there was no more of him left to consume.

The smoke blew away into the wind and Junior focused his attention on the others. Greed and Sloth looked ready to blaze their way out of the realm as fast as possible, but Wrath actually floated in a bit closer, looking surprisingly fearless.

" _You took this nearly as far as your mother did. Hell, maybe even further, all things considered."_ The Sin said, sounding almost proud. _"She overwhelmed Lust with her pure, raw hatred, just as you've used your rage to fight back against us all. Whatever stone Lust kicked over in your head, it must have been a doozy."_ Wrath's eyes told the whole story. Just as Lust had seen his connection to Minnie earlier with just a look, Wrath could see the true fuel behind Junior's sudden strength. _"I'm not still not entirely sure why you're able to touch us now, but in truth it doesn't matter. You know why? Because I'm Wrath! I'm rage incarnate! No force in history has been the cause of more tragedy than I have! I am the deadliest of all the seven Sins and you think your anger has any hope of being greater than mine?!"_

Junior said nothing, simply standing in silence as he glared at the Sin, though that only allowed for Wrath to continue on further.

" _Well come on, then! Try and kill me like you did Lust, Gluttony, and Envy! Just try and overwhelm me with your great rage!"_ He challenged. _"I was there when Zeus took vengeance upon his father! When the Hulk broke his first world! When your own mother realized Pandora had tricked her into opening the forbidden box! I've seen the most ferocious rages this world has ever known, so do you, a forgotten pampered prince, truly believe you have even the slightest…s-…slightest…"_

Wrath's words started to slowly trail off. As he looked deeper and deeper into Junior's red glare, the Sin saw something within them he hadn't before.

" _Well that's…unexpected."_ He said, practically gaping, his mouth hanging open as he floated almost totally stunned by the revelation. He then made a noise, one which none of his other Sins had ever heard from him in their past hundred lifetimes together.

" _Is Wrath…laughing?"_ Sloth asked, finally freaked out enough to take the clarinet away from his mouth and speak.

Wrath couldn't help it, his head shaking hand and forth from the disbelief of it all, yet with still the most manic and insane smile spread across his face. " _You're going to be magnificent."_ He told Junior, his admiration showing through his laughter as he gladly accepted his fate.

Starting around Junior, the air rose hundreds of degrees at once, and the following geyser of flame that burst out from his body and stretched to the heavens was blinding even from the castle's top. When the light finally faded, Junior was the only one left, standing still burning in the center of the mile-wide circle of steaming glass.

Even with the Sins now gone, Junior did not feel sated quite yet. And thankfully, there was still one more opponent left. One whom was now strangely absent from the battlefield.

" **Laaaaaaanterrrrrrrn."**

Though he'd had plenty of time to get away as the Sins distracted the Reaper, the cyborg had not gotten off far. His remaining non-melted leg could only support so much of his weight and balance while rocket-blading away. As such Lantern had only now managed to hide behind a large rocky mountain, about two over from Castle Grimskull and out of its direct line of sight. But he was still too close to all the action for comfort and after feeling the rumble from Junior's last attack, Lantern's panic had served only to increase his pace in activating the communicator in his arm.

"Come on, Eris! Dammit, pick up!" He said strenuously while trying to keep as quiet as quiet as he could. He punched in the proper numbers over three times and yet still no answer from the other end. "You said you'd have my back if this operation went south. You promised! Pick up!"

" **Laaaaaaanterrrrrrrn."** Junior breathed again, this time Lantern easily hearing him, as he turned immediately around and saw the flame-spewing Demon Reaper just a short distance away, staring at him with glee.

There was no prior thought, just the instant reaction. "Get away from me!" Lantern yelled as his arm launched a volley of missiles at Junior; the same containing the same Nergal-paralyzing gas that'd stopped the Demon Reaper in their last battle. Each struck their target with no resistance but afterwards Junior simply walked unharmed out of the cloud of smoke, chuckling fiendishly in amusement as his flames simply burned away the invisible gas. "Stop it. Stop that laughing!" Lantern ordered furiously as he sent more missiles, the futile gesture achieving the same result, save for Junior making sure his laughs were a bit louder this time.

"I SAID STOP THAT LAUGHING!" Lantern roared as he threw his hands out of the way, creating a clear path for the energy hidden behind the scowling jack-o-lantern face on his chest to explode outward in a single streaming beam of power. The blast struck Junior directly in the chest and he finally did stop.

But only to adjust to the sudden force, as seconds later and Junior continued making his way towards Lantern, effortlessly pushing his way through the attack and laughing the entire way.

Pumping more and more power into the blast proved to be of little worth as Junior kept advancing. And thus, with no other options and the Reaper practically in his face within the next few steps, Lantern cut off the blast and simply rushed Junior. Throwing his fist with all the strength his metallic body would allow, it was caught by Junior's own hand just before it'd have hit his face. Refusing to give in, Lantern punched with his other fist as well, only to have it caught too.

With both men struggling against each other, hand against hand, the back of Lantern's elbows opened up, revealing and activating the blazing rocket thrusters within, adding to the force and power behind his push. But still, Junior's strength somehow matched his own and would not release his hold or be knocked back.

"I gave up everything for this!" Lantern yelled into Junior's face, giving it all he had as the thrusters raged behind him. "Everything I had, just so I wouldn't have to be afraid of anyone anymore! Not of Endsville's Queen! Not of her knight! Not of Grim! And most certainly not you! Once I destroy you and your family, no one will ever even think about cutting off dear old Jack O'Lantern's head, just for playing a few harmless pranks! Once I'm done with you, I can finally live again!"

And on those last words, Junior tore Lantern's arms clear away from his body.

After a second of blinking shock as Junior dropped the arms onto the ground with a rude clang, Lantern turned his cylindrical head, looking from one sparking, leaking hole in his shoulder to the other. "…...Please don't break my butt." He begged when he finally looked back at Junior.

Junior gave his dismembered opponent a raised eyebrow and a sinister smirk.

His skeletal jaw then opened up many times further than it ever normally would and Junior dove animalistically at Lantern, sinking his sharpened teeth into his robotic shell before tearing a chunk off.

For the next several minutes, the only sounds heard echoing thorough the Domain of Death were Lantern's pleading screams and metal being violently ripped apart.

Once the noise stopped reaching them, those up in the castle had to wait only a minute before Junior's bright frame appeared in the distance from behind the mountain, alone.

"And that's the end of that." Mandy said, giving the battle its official finish.

"Thank god." Grim sighed, happy to have the whole thing finally over with. "We should probably send someone down to bring Junior up to de infirmary. Heaven knows he could probably use de rest."

"Looks like he's already thinking of getting up here on his own." Mandy commented, pointing far down to Junior, who indeed seemed to be staring up at them and not moving, somehow able to see them even from such a great distance.

It was such an eerie silence that surrounded Junior now that the battlefield had no one else left upon it other than him. It left such a quiet void that his thoughts had little trouble filling it. _ **"…They really wouldn't be able to stop me, would they?"**_ Junior remarked to himself as he stared up at his parents. _**"Their armies, no more fierce than this one. I could kill them all in an instant and then take what's left."**_ His red glare grew sharp and more determined. _**"I could take her…and no one could stop me."**_

Bending his legs back, Junior leapt a fill mile into the air with a single jump. As his arc started to turn downwards towards the castle, Junior felt his burning fingers turn to claws in his excitement, unable to contain himself as Mandy image came closer and closer in his vision. Finally, she was going to be his, whether she liked it or not!

 _"Please…no more."_

The tearful words from the dream echoed through Junior's head like a heartbeat and his wide eye instantly snapped from red back to its original grey.

Junior crashed into the castle's balcony, flipping and tumbling across its full length before coming to a hard stop against the stone wall of the building. The flames of his form were gone, having reverted back to the black Nergal flesh of his Layer 2 form. He was couching and hacking horribly, his throat never having felt so dry. But even through that great amount of heaving, it was his trembling hands that Junior couldn't stop staring at.

" _What…what was I about to do?!"_ He questioned himself, horrified over what'd almost happened and looking like he was about to be sick.

So lost in thought Junior gave a startled jump as Grim rushed over and knelt down to help him. "Junior! Are ya all right, son?" He asked worriedly as he checked him.

Looking rapidly between both Grim and Mandy, whom still stood where she was, Junior's mind was swarming with too many thoughts and emotions to think clearly. All he knew is that he couldn't bear to deal with so much of it right now, and thus blurted out the first thing he could think of that would buy him more time. Something he'd overheard Lantern say.

"Who is Eris?" He asked.

Both Grim and Mandy blinked wildly in surprise at the question.

"Well…dere's a name we haven't heard in a while." Grim remarked.

* * *

Lord Pain awoke with a groan as he touched his hand to his helmet. "Where…?" He said, his dazed vision slowly coming into focus. It took him a moment before he realized he was leaning against a wall and, upon turning around, it was something of a shock to him to see the familiar red banners that decorated his master's home.

"This is…this is the second floor, east hallway." The knight realized, looking around and recognizing the many distinct bits of artwork and framed portraits of the Grim family lining their way up and down the hallway. "I'm back in the castle but…how? The last thing I remember was the battle and… How did I get here?"

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** In case anyone's curious, I have not seen  Agents of SHIELD, where Ghost Rider has apparently become a big character recently. I'm sure it's a fine show but there's a list of other shows I'm trying to watch through first, the next likely being Star vs. The Forces of Evil, as people have been asking me to put her and Marco in my stories.

Anyway, while this Ghost Rider power Junior has might seem like an asspull (and technically it is), it is something I'd planned to have in the story for a while, thus why I had it as one of Junior's confirmed successful bounties back in chapter 4. For those of you who don't know much about the Ghost Rider character, don't worry about it. For this story, the most you need to know is that he was a demonic (sometimes angelic) punisher of the wicked and sinful and that by presumably eating his soul, Junior gained the Rider's powers, though he doesn't use it that much.

Pretty much just like with the Mandy-incest plot stuff, I am putting the Ghost Rider power in for a reason. The story will not be about the Ghost Rider power; the Ghost Rider power will be a part of the story. There is a story-based reason why Junior has this power, and I'll give you a hint, it's not just for the power boost. In fact, for Junior, it was never the power bonus that Junior cared about when it came to the Rider's power, but that's for hopefully the next two chapters.

And speaking of the Mandy-incest plot stuff, Junior's issues are clearly not getting better, given that Envy nearly got him to attack Grim over it and on his own Junior was about to…well, do some rather unspeakable things, we can assume, before he stopped himself at the last minute.

So apparently, something bad happened to Minnie a little while back. But what? One would assume she's still alive, given Grim has said she still sends the family letters, but what happened in that memory, well, only Junior and her know and Junior's certainly not talking about it.

Final note, this Layer 3 Ghost Rider form of Junior's is called Angel of Damnation (at least it would if I'd remembered to give him wings, but maybe I can fit that in next time).

Final final note, anyone else notice that one of the Sins is missing from Junior's kill-count? What the hell happened to Pride?

* * *

 **QTP:** If Junior was hired by Mephisto to hunt down the Ghost Rider, why did he decide to keep the Rider's power/soul for himself? Was Mimi sensing Junior's turmoil during the battle or was she sensing something later to come? Why did Junior never use the Ghost Rider power against Dan before? What happened to Minnie in Junior's memory? Why was Junior suddenly able to touch and attack the Sins? What did Wrath's final words to Junior mean? Why did Lord Pain wake up back in the castle? What will be the fallout of everything that happened because of this attack?


	13. The Players Revealed

**Part 13: The Players Revealed**

 **desdelor97:** Thank you.

 **DPSS:** 1.) You're almost exactly right on that answer there (I should hopefully have it fully answered by the end of next chapter).

2.) Correct.

3.) Yeah, but Dan will doubtfully see it as that.

4.) Yeah, I suppose it would be hard to make a destroyed person your sex slave, even for a Reaper.

5.) That's true to an extent I suppose, but Wrath seemed pretty confident beforehand that Junior wouldn't be able to harm them without them influencing a host, even with the Rider's power. So there's a little something extra Junior had in the mix.

6.) Fair enough.

7.) 3 out of 4. Not bad.

 **DarkDremora:** Again, thank you for the very flattering review. Hopefully this one should be just as good.

1.) You're almost exactly right on that answer there (like I said to DPSS, I should hopefully have it fully answered by the end of next chapter).

2.) That is how they work, yes.

3.) Really right on that the powers would take away the challenge. Interestingly enough, not counting the Rider form of course, Junior actually tends to have an easier time controlling himself around Dan when it's just the two of them, mainly because he's not worried about losing control against him.

4.) Correct, though I'll true and give a little more context to it in later chapters.

5.) You're right on the first half of that sentence.

6.) Mostly correct. The rest has to do with a little something extra Junior has.

7.) Let's see how many things you predicted for this chapter. You got quite a few.

 **Lord Razer:** Funny enough, I'd completely forgotten about Doomguy as a character, even though I am planning for one of his more iconic weapons to make an appearance later in the story (probably to be used by Mandy as she's developed a love for things that go BOOM and then there's no more anything over the years). I imagine Junior wouldn't have a problem with taking the job as long as the bounty on his head was worth collecting. Though given that most of the people who'd want Doomguy dead would be the mindless drones of Hell, I doubt they'd be able to meet Junior's price.

 **Valtek:** Well, when I first decided to make this story I'd already decided what was going to happen at the very beginning, the very middle, and the very end. Everything else is me filling in the blanks to justify those parts. So I've already got a pretty good idea how the final battle will go and I'm confident it'll be better than this one. At the very least it won't be just Junior against a bunch of mindless monsters. No, it'll be against an enemy with a brain, personality, and a f**kton of power. So here's hoping.

 **AMTT94:** Always happy to fascinate. I'm glad you liked the stuff between Mandy and her kids. While I still stand by my Empire of Death story, I do think I wrote Mandy maybe a little too cold and gave people the impression that I didn't like her (which is the exact opposite of the truth as Mandy has always been my favorite character since the original show). So I am trying to write her a little more three-dimensionally this time.

I have no problem with Rick and Morty making a cameo in one of my stories (I'm actually thinking of making reference to Rick in the next chapter of A League Beyond Legends). The problem is, like with Kevin and Rook, I want to make sure that they're not taking away from the story or that their very presence drastically changes what should happen in it. Rick's smart enough to make big impacts on the plans of both sides, but this war is also not something he'd give a shit about because it doesn't involve him. I'll work characters in if I can but only if I think they'll actually work.

And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the God of Magic. And while it won't happen all at once, Daniela and Manny's relationship with Dan will be addressed throughout the story.

 **nightmaster000:** And Eris most certainly won't be the last face revealed (though she may be one of the more important).

1.) I think it really says something about me that I have more dislike for Joe Quesada than I do for Mephisto. Probably because I know Mephisto is just a fictional character and One More Day was Joe's stupid idea.

2.) I suppose it's possible, though Mimi's visions in the comic seemed to only show the future when it happened.

3.) Definitely on kinda.

4.) Well, if all goes according to plan you should hopefully get some answers on this in the next couple of chapters. Can't stay vague forever.

5.) Same as last answer.

6.) Oh, big time.

 **Brandon Storm:** Yeah, I know. Just seeing if you're paying attention.

 **Emeraldalex123:** Uh…I think you might be getting this story mixed up with my  Empire of Death story. There's no ghost nukes in this story and Junior most certainly wouldn't be having lustful feelings for Mandy if she deliberately bombed him and Minnie like in that story. So what happened to Minnie was bad, but not quite as bad as having her soul obliterated. Good guesses on the rest of the stuff, though.

* * *

 **Chapter Start**

"Pandora. Jack O' Lantern. Morg. The Boogieman. And now Eris." Mandy listed off as each stock image from their castle's records appeared on the holographic screen floating at the end of the room.

"Don't forget dis Drax fellow, de one whom apparently built Jack his new body." Grim added.

The image of a faceless avatar popped up alongside the other profiles, indicating they had no information on such a person. "Not surprised. Even I'm not familiar with the name." Mandy admitted.

Both parents stood facing the screen, Lord Pain standing ready at their sides, comparing what they remembered with what their records showed, backs to the rest of the infirmary where their children and remaining soldiers were being tended to. The medically clad skeleton doctors and nurses were busy patching up Manny and Daniela, whom, though their beds were right next to each other, sat facing completely opposite directions. Their memories of their time controlled by the Sins were choppy, but they remembered enough to be unable to look their twin in the eye, for a variety of reasons.

Junior meanwhile stood with his arms folded, leaning against the far wall of the room. None of the nurses were anywhere near him as he'd flatly refused treatment and ordered them to focus on his siblings. In all honesty, were it not for wanting to make sure they were going to be okay after…after what he did to them with that black fire, Junior knew he'd have been long gone from the area already.

Looking out the window, it was a bit surprising to still see Dan though. The ghost stood at the tip of the horn of the giant metal head which the castle stood atop of, arms also folded as he just stared off into the distance. Junior had very vague memories of what he'd done to him, but he found that guilt far easier to swallow than the rest he was dealing with. Wasn't that why he'd always hung around the ghost in the first place? Junior never had to feel bad about hurting Dan.

As the uncomfortable silence crept in, Daniela took a small peek behind her, hoping that Manny was maybe doing the same. But all she saw was her brother's back and a small glimpse of one of the nurses wrapping a thick bandage around his badly burned hands, damaged as a result of ecto-blast overuse.

Looking away out of shame and desperate for anything to fill the silence other than her own thoughts, Daniela asked aloud "Who is this Eris?"

This perked the attentions of Manny and Junior, both also interested, though Junior's reaction was a bit more subtle than his brother's, whom immediately jerked up to look towards their parents. Thankfully though, it seemed Mandy had no problem with sharing this information. The very fact that she and Grim were even looking at this stuff in here at least made it clear that she didn't think it was a good idea to keep her children ignorant of what was going on.

"Eris is the daughter of Zeus and Hera, king and queen of the Greek Pantheon of gods." Mandy explained, bringing up and enlarging a photo of a curvaceous and absolutely inhumanly gorgeous blond haired woman, though with a noticeable gap in her teeth. Her white toga and jeweled tiara certainly reflected her Greek heritage, Daniela thought while Manny practically drooled over the image, given the design of both. "She herself is known as the Goddess of chaos and discord and we've had an on-again, off-again relationship with her as an enemy since I was ten. Your father also used to have a huge crush on her."

"Ugh. Don't remind me." Grim groaned in disgust.

"Regardless, Eris is easily one of the most powerful beings we've ever fought against, but only when armed with this." Mandy continued, bring up the image of a shining golden apple with a large K plastered across it. "The Apple of Discord. The source of her chaos spreading abilities. From what rumor tells us, Zeus, knowing that his daughter's powers could potentially lead to his own ruination, tricked Eris into infusing her chaos magics into the same golden apple she used to spark the conflict between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite that eventually led to the Trojan War. Save for her immortality and the natural abilities that come with being a god, Eris is practically powerless without the apple."

"And if I had to guess, that, along with the samurai's katana and Pandora's Box, are the only things still missing from your vault." Junior finally spoke up, surprising everyone after his long silence.

Mandy gave a simple nod in response. "Explains a lot, doesn't it?" She said, not a hint of mirth in her voice. "I always thought Underfist had stolen the apple from her too easily but I figured that if I put enough protections around it then that wouldn't matter. It's not often that you'll hear me admitting to being too arrogant." All the servants save for Lord Pain backed up a bit, fearing the small undertone of rage in their queen's voice.

"So the explosion in de vault was caused by de apple." Grim stepped in, giving his wife somewhere else to focus on. "Makes sense but still doesn't explain one thing: why? Why now of all times?"

"I'd think that'd be kind of obvious, wouldn't it?" Mandy remarked evenly.

"Humor me." Grim replied dryly.

"Why does any enemy attack, Grim? Because they're ready enough to do so. Gathering up allies, building Lantern a combat-ready body, somehow removing Pandora's inability to open the box on her own, making a ragdoll version of sensei Jack, and who know what else. That takes time. But the longer they waited for the perfect opportunity the more they'd risk us somehow catching onto them. Especially since they clearly didn't have everything they needed."

Manny tilted his head in confusion. "What? What do you mean? How do you know that?"

"The Vault!" Daniela realized suddenly. "The stuff that they stole from the Vault! They must have needed it to complete whatever plan they had!"

Mandy nodded, a small hint of a prideful smirk coming across her lips. "Exactly. And that, along with what Lantern told Grim about him and Pandora disobeying orders by attacking early, tells us that whatever plan our enemies have in store for us is not quite ready yet. Meaning they've now lost their biggest advantage."

"Or at least one of dem." Grim corrected, getting a look from his wife. "We know someone's out to get us and who some of de players are, but what dey have planned, and what dey are truly capable of, we still have no idea. Stealing Jack's soul out of Heaven is proof enough of dat. And keep in mind dat, had we known Pandora and Jack were coming fer us, you know we wouldn't have expected dem to cause as much damage as dey did. And dey ain't even de worst on dis list."

Mandy stood in silence for a moment, taking in her husband's words and not exactly disagreeing with him. Turning to Lord Pain, she said "Charles, send word to Minnie through the contact number she gave us. Let her know what's going on. If these people are after us, there's a good chance they'll be after her too."

"Of course, master." Lord Pain bowed before leaving for his task.

Mandy returned her focus back to the hovering screen. "Computer, activate General Nergal's silent signal device. Authorization code: Sis."

"Authorization code: confirmed." Spoke the sultry computer voice, bring up one of many Underworld maps to lock onto his position.

Mandy looked over to Junior. "You're positive Lantern bragged to you about taking down your godfather?"

"Very." Junior stated simply, though keeping his eyes directed firmly away from her. If Mandy noticed this strange attitude then she chose not to say anything about it, simply turning back to Grim instead.

"The general knows to keep his tracker with him at all times, and even if Jack found it on him and discarded it, its signal should at least give us a good place to start looking for answers."

"Hmm. Dat's odd." Grim remarked, pointing at moving red dot on the map. "If I'm reading dis right, it looks like de signal is headin' right fer de castle. And movin' pretty damn fast too."

Looking over the map, Mandy saw that Grim was indeed right and shared a look of confusion with him before both adults slowly turned to look out the windows.

It was a shower of flying glass as a golden flame colored bird came crashing in through the window closest to the beds. The servants moved as their training taught them, throwing themselves in front of their masters' children to protect them, though not that there was any need. The large bird tumbled exhaustedly across the tile floor, the only thing breaking its fall was the body it'd brought in with it, carried in its hooked talons.

"Oh my god…" Junior rushed forward, forgetting everything that'd been holding him back, from his visions to his fears of what he'd never done at the battle's end, as he instantly recognized the man bleeding to death on the floor. "Uncle Nergal!"

To say the general's body had been cut up would be an understatement. As Junior fell down to his knees to help him, he could see the green blood pouring out from entire chunks of missing flesh from his godfather's back and arms, soaking the few bits of torn clothing he had left.

"I need a team here, now!" Mandy shouted as she and Grim came to his aid as well, her order snapping the shocked doctors back to attention. As the skeletons rushed over with their equipment, Mandy looked at her husband. "Grim?"

"He's still alive," Grim informed her, needing only a single look at Nergal Jr's body. "But just barely. Some of dese injuries ain't been caused recently. Dere's too much scarring fer dat. Dey must have been doing dis to him ever since dey captured him, whenever dat-… Oh my god."

It was no secret what had given even Grim such an uncharacteristic pause. Everyone in the room saw the same thing when the doctors flipped the general's body over onto the cloth stretcher. Junior stared in horror, Daniela cupped her hands over her mouth, and even Manny's eyes winced as they wanted to look away.

"They…they tore out his eyes…" Daniela nearly cried as one of the doctors tried to cover up the empty bleeding holes from her view.

The mere twitch of Junior's grip sent cracks throughout the entire floor, his rage suddenly becoming so overpowering his mind went nearly blank, the only thought able to pass through being the simple _"How dare they…! HOW DARE THEY!"_ It was only when he felt the familiar burning rush of the red color coming over his eyes that Junior's teeth gritted even harder, nearly cracking themselves in his effort trying to calm himself down. _"No! Not here! Not with everyone so close!"_

"Someone get that damn bird out of here!" Mandy yelled angrily. In his focus on his godfather Junior hadn't realized how much noise the fire-colored bird was making. Flailing around frantically on the floor, wings and neck stretched out to their fullest length while its beak stayed open wide, the bird was making a horrid retching noise, like it was choking on something.

After a few more attempts with no apparent success, the bird then simply exploded into a pile of ash.

It was only Junior and his siblings who seemed surprised by this. Same as for when bits of the ash pile started to swirl in the air, catching fire before the bird sprang back to life through the flames (leaving behind a horrible flatulence-like smell). The bird flew up to stand on the handle of one of the medical carts, pecking at its feathers carelessly and making a call that sounded less like a musical melody and more like a jungleman's yell.

"Blasted firebirds." Grim swore as he waved the smoke away in annoyance. "Dey always leave such a damn mess."

Mandy didn't say anything back. She was far more focused on what the phoenix had left behind in its pile of ashes. A small mechanical box with a circle at its top. If she had to guess, the phoenix had been carrying the device in its beak on the way here before accidentally swallowing it when it crashed through the window.

Grim finally noticed what his wife was looking at. "Is dat a…holo-recorder?"

"Seems to be." Mandy said as she picked up the box and brushed it off, her instincts telling her it was safe. She and Grim shared a look between them, both having an idea of what could be on it. Pressing the activation button down, Mandy tossed the device to the center of the room.

The hologram flickered wildly as it started up, stretching up to the ceiling as its image took shape. The man it showed was tall, though the hologram seemed deliberately designed to project an intimidatingly large image. His black and yellow monk's robe covered up the entirety of his features. That was until he pulled down his hood. When he did Daniela was instantly reminded of what Junior had said to her offhandedly back at Aku's Palace. _"Blue, big-nosed bastard."_

"Hello, Grim. Hello, Mandy. How lovely it is to see you again." The projected man smiled darkly, the light from wherever he was shining off his bald head.

"Boogie." Grim growled, his grip tightening on his scythe and conveying every last bit of distain he had for the man into it. It had to have been over thirty years since he'd last seen him and yet, save for the eyepatch over his left eye, Boogie hadn't changed in the least (though the patch let Grim imagine that the injury was recent and hopefully very painful).

"Well, that's what I would say, if this were not a recording." Boogie continued with a chuckle. "Can't risk you two tracing any signals back to me, now can I? You both have gotten enough spoilers already."

There was an annoyed twitch of Mandy's eye, the queen no doubt having been about to give that very order.

"Now then, as I'm sure you're aware by now, two of my most recently gained allies went a bit rogue, stormed your literal castle, and spilled some of our secrets." Boogie coughed awkwardly. "I'd be a bit angrier, but thanks to you lot my other allies know full well how bad things will go if they turn traitor too, so at least that's something. As a bit of compensation for their rudeness, please accept my gift of returning your general to you. We don't really need him anymore and honestly he was starting to stink up the place."

Junior felt his anger flare up again but bit his lip to restrain himself.

"Now, you're probably thinking, _"Why, Boogie! That's so uncharacteristically nice of you!"_. Well, I thought it'd be a nice bit of courtesy and a good way to help rub things in. I mean, it's not like you can stop us at this point in the game. I've always been better than you, Grim. It just happens to be that you have more valuable things to take from you this time than your lunch money."

"Still loves to hear himself talk, I see." Mandy commented as the hologram droned on.

"I've gained quite a few friends during the last two decades and as you may or may not suspect, I've been building an army to match and perhaps even surpass your own." Boogie grinned confidently. "If you think the years have made he forget our history you'd almost be right. If you thought I hated you before, just imagine how deeply that pit I my stomach has increased after I recovered from what YOU did to me all those years ago back in Horror's Lair! You didn't just take away my reputation, you took away my mind! For that, I'm going to make sure that you, your whore wife, your bastards, and everything you've ever cared about, is burned to the ground and never going to come back. I'd offer you some kind of out in this, like maybe your title and the scythe in exchange for your lives, but I'm going to have those soon anyway, so I can learn to be patient.

"I'll say hi to Eris and Morg for you! Bye!" Boogie waved off like a child. "Oh! And I nearly forgot about the best part of this recorder!" A large number 5 appeared on the Boogieman's chest. It counted down to a 4, and then to a 3…

Mandy gave an annoyed sigh. "Grim..."

"On it." He said simply as he tapped the base of his scythe against the floor, causing the hologram projector to float up off the ground as it was surrounded in a small purple energy field. When the number 1 finally appeared, the device exploded, though the sound and impact was muffled and contained to solely the inside of the field. "…Seems to have conveniently forgotten his amnesia back then was his own fault."

It was almost pure silence in the uncomfortable room, save for the Phoenix still pecking at itself and the doctors finally lifting Nergal Jr's blanket covered stretcher off the ground.

"Get General Nergal into isolated quarantine." Mandy ordered them, her mind going straight to business. "I want him run through every scan we have, got it? I doubt the Boogieman returned him to us without some kind of hidden motive and it'll be your heads if we end up surprised by something."

"Yes, my queen!" The doctors at both ends of the stretcher said in stiff unison, knowing full well she was not one to exaggerate about the consequences of failure.

As they ran from the room, keeping Nergal Jr's body steady as they could while a few other medical skeletons followed them out, Mandy caught Junior's eye as he watched them leave. "He's going to be alright, Junior." She assured him evenly, getting a surprised look from him in return at her empathy. "He's been through worse while in my employ and his healing factor has always pulled him through."

Daniela's head perked up from where she'd been staring sadly and the knelling Junior, knowing how much the general meant to him. "Wait…I'm sorry for my possible ignorance, mother, but I thought that a Nergal loses his or her powers when their eye is removed. Is that not why Minnie was able to transfer her abilities to Junior so long ago?"

"De power transfer only applies when de eye is given willingly." Grim answered for her. "In fact it was a common thing fer a while fer members of de Nergal species ta spread around misinformation about how de eye transfer worked. People come from all over ta hunt dem down, thinking they'll gain incredible powers just by stealing an eye from dem. While de idiot is removing dere own eye to fit it in, de Nergal would just regrow another eye and have a new fool to feast on. Seems dat Boogie didn't know dat or else he wouldn't have bothered."

Next to him Mandy crossed her arms, her expression showing that she was mentally sorting through some other ideas.

"You don't believe dat's de case?" Grim questioned her.

"At the moment, all I believe is that I'm not leaving anything to chance just because of assumptions." Mandy replied. "Boogie may be arrogant and not worth his weight as a real monster, but he's not stupid, nor is he working with people who will let him be stupid. The message. The Phoenix. He's made it clear that he knows exactly how much info Jack and Pandora gave us and revealed nothing more. He's taunting us and it's probably because he thinks he knows something that we don't."

"Ya don't think you're being a little paranoid?"

"It's my 'paranoia' as you call it that's been beating back every enemy that's dared come up to our doorstep." Mandy retorted sharply. "And I'm going to make sure it's the same for whatever army your old middle school bully sends at us next."

"But…will he?" Manny asked, unintentionally breaking some of the tension. "I mean, he could just be bluffing, right? After what Pandora and the robot pumpkin guy already did… We've already fought an entire army of monsters and Junior killed the Seven Deadly Sins. We literally destroyed the world's evils! What more could he have to send at us after that?"

"Don't be dense, Manny." Mandy stated flatly, getting a small recoil from the teen. Harsh as it may seem, that was Mandy trying her best to be nice, something she'd never even attempt if he wasn't her son. "Not only do I doubt our enemies would be foolish enough to put all their eggs in one basket (or trust that basket to just Pandora), but those things aren't any more responsible for the evils of the world than booze, video games, and the tuba are."

Manny and even his sister looked their mother confused. "But…isn't that what Pandora said? That the box contained the evils of mankind or something?"

"You think Zeus and the other Olympians were the only ones to ever try and magically rid the world of all evil?" Mandy asked rhetorically. "Eons ago, with their godly powers combined, they searched every corner of their world for every scrap of evil and wretchedness they could find and then stuffed it all in that box. Containing all evil forever. And by the next morning, it was all back again. New evil simply moved in to take the place of what was taken. You can't simply destroy evil or lock it all away any more than you could with all good in the universe, because good and evil are not as simple as the old angel and demon sitting on your shoulders. They're abstract concepts thought up by man and relative ones at that."

"But then, what were those things in the box?" Manny asked.

"Hard to explain, but the simplest way I can put it is that they're avatars of the sins they're supposed to represent." Mandy explained best she could. "The Olympians took the evils they collected and gave them physical forms. That way they had something to fight against and wouldn't have to accept that evil is just something that exists in people."

"…Oh." Manny said, seeming quite disappointed, though only Grim and Daniela seemed to notice this.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Junior stood up abruptly and quickly left the infirmary, not saying a word to anyone as he hurriedly walked out the door. After a second of overcoming her surprise, Daniela ran after him in worry. After a moment of his own great hesitation, Manny followed after her.

Grim stared at Mandy, clearly a bit irritated with her. "Ya could have been more tactful with all dat, you know."

Mandy gave him an odd look back, not getting his meaning. "What?" She asked, truly unaware of what the problem was.

"De kids are already feelin' bad enough about what dey did while under de Sins' influence and den ya go tellin' dem about how de evil was simply in demselves de whole time." He harshly pointed out.

"I told them that the Olympians created the Sins to be fought. It's not like they were having their inner demons just brought out by nothing." Mandy defended. "The Sins effected to you and me too, Grim, so it's not like there's any shame in Wrath and Envy getting to them. In fact, they should be proud of themselves for how long they lasted, given how much damage the Sins have caused in the past."

"Dat's not de point, Mandy." Grim tried to get her to see. "De kids ain't like you and me. Manny's face was practically screamin' fer you ta tell him dat what he did wasn't his fault, and I could see practically de same thing in Daniela's eyes every time she looked at how beat up Manny's body was because of her joyride in it. Dey're still kids and dey ain't anywhere near as at peace wit deir "inner demons" as you are. Even Minnie, de child you named after yerself, wasn't, remember?"

Mandy's glare sharpened at the mention of her daughter's name. Grim knew better than to use her name lightly after all the girl had been. Which meant Mandy soon had to give a relenting sigh, knowing he had a point even if she felt otherwise on the subject.

"I'll go talk to dem." Grim said as he was about to leave.

"No. I'll do it." Mandy said, more as an order than an offer. "Besides, you still need to have a talk with our _other_ new guest."

Already knowing who his wife was referring to, Grim pondered it for a moment before nodding his head in agreement.

"And take this with you, just in case." She added, handing off to him the misty red crystal ball necklace she'd stolen from Pandora.

"…I won't need dis." Grim said after staring at the orb in his skeletal fingers, knowing well what it was.

"I believe you." Mandy said simply. "But just in case." She repeated, forcing it back into his hand.

Grim was quiet for a moment. "…Alright. Fine." He relented, though not feeling well about such a choice.

* * *

Junior had gotten as far as through the castle's main entrance before Daniela finally caught up with him outside.

"Brother! Brother, wait!" She called after him as she passed the guards stationed at the doors, finally getting Junior to stop. "Brother, where are you going?"

Junior, still with his back turned, didn't answer her at first. "I'm leaving. I've got business to attend to elsewhere." He told her.

"Oh? Have you thought of a possible new lead that we should check out?" Daniela asked.

"You're not coming with me."

It took a long moment before her brother's words finally registered to her, mostly because she was trying to convince herself she'd misheard him. "Wh…what?"

"You're not coming with." He told her again, this time with a bit more deliberate bluntness in his words. "I did what I told dad I'd do. I brought you back to the castle. Now I'm moving back on and you're staying here."

Daniela's breathing became a little hard as she tried to take this in. "But-But what did I do?" She asked, practically pleading for him to change his mind. "If this is because the cyborg took me out so easily in Aku City, or because of what I did to Manny, I swear I'll do better! Just give me another chance!"

"This isn't because of anything you've done, Daniela." Junior said, wanting to soften his tone but afraid she wouldn't listen to him if he did. "Bringing you along with me…it was a mistake." Daniela's eyes gave a small flinch from the sting of his words, though Junior pretended not to notice. "You've only been with me for a few days and you've nearly died several times over. I had no right to put you in that kind of danger."

"But that was point, wasn't it?" Daniela begged tearfully, just as Manny had finally come outside through the doors too, finding himself stumbling into a very tense scene. "You let me come with so that I could be better prepared. So that I could get stronger. I know it's going slowly and I haven't made much progress but I just need a little more time! Please!"

"Daniela, it's not because of that." He told her again, not sure of how he could convince her without telling her the truth. This wasn't her fault. She wasn't being punished. It was simply not safe for her to be around him anymore. "You can stay here and train in the castle. Maybe when this all blows over we can… Look, you just need to trust me that you can't come with, okay?"

"I do trust you! I just want to know what I did! Please! Just tell me why I can't come with you anymore!" Daniela cried.

"I just have some things I need to work out." Junior told her, feeling his anger starting to flare. Why couldn't she just let this go?

"What? Please, just tell me what's going on?! Why can't I come with? I want to come with you! I want to be with you!"

"I said **NO!** " Junior finally turned in his momentary rage, both his eyes and the eyes of his sister going wide in surprise as his mouth spat out literal fire from his yell. The flames didn't come close to touching her but the suddenness of them caused Daniela to make a quick jerk back away.

Manny's arm then shot in front of her chest and pushed her further back, putting himself between her and Junior. "HEY! What the hell's your problem?!" He yelled as he quickly came to his twin's defense.

Junior looked rapidly back and forth between the two, his brain still processing what he'd just done, when his hand jerked up to his eye, feeling the familiar burn of the red creeping back into his corneas. Turning sharply away from his siblings and with his hand still clutching the area over his eye, a green-bladed Nergal scythe spawned into his free hand, with which he swung hard to rip open a new portal out of the realm.

"Ttt. Dammit." Mandy tisked to herself as she walked through the castle doors just as Junior's portal closed shut behind him. "And I actually was going to talk to him too. Guess he takes too much after me. Or at least that's what I hope this is."

Mandy made her way down the walkway, the clacks of her thigh-high boot alerting the twins to her presence, though only Manny turned to see that it was her. Daniela looked ready to just collapse to her knees and bawl her eyes out. With the way her face twitched as it tried to fight back the swelling redness in her eyes, Daniela batted Manny's hand away as he tried to comfort her and ran past him, unintentionally pushing her way past her mother too but did nothing to slow down because of it.

"Daniela!" Manny called as he tried to run after her, only to be stopped by Mandy putting an open hand to his chest.

"No. I'll talk to her." She told him in an assuring but firm manner. "After everything that's happened, after what the Sins had her do to you, I think you're the last person she wants to talk to right now. Besides, you need to get some rest too. I don't want you collapsing from your injuries."

"But mom-!"

"Bed. Now." Mandy ordered, leaving no room in her tone for negotiation. "I check up on you after. And it'll give you time to actually think about what you want to say to Daniela before you run after her."

Manny wanted to argue with her, but found that when he opened his mouth he could think of no right words to say. What could he even say to Daniela after what happened?

Manny gave a sullen nod, relenting as his mother nodded back and went off to find his sister. Kicking the dirt as he felt so lost and useless, Manny's head then perked up, remembering that Dan was still standing atop the tip of the giant metal horn. Turning quickly, Manny saw that his newly discovered father was still up there, and interestingly enough looking back down at him, no doubt have heard all the commotion.

Manny went ghost and flew up to him, though Dan seemed less than enthused to see him, noticeably distracted by something else.

"Where'd Junior port off to?" He asked the very moment Manny got to him, his arms crossed in his tense state.

"Uh…he didn't really say." Manny said, scratching the back of his head, just now realizing how much bigger the ghost was than him up close. He was of a more slender build, while Dan seemed to be nothing but muscle underneath his newly repaired costume and cape. And the way the flames of his hair flickered, Manny could only barely remember what that'd felt like while Daniela was possessing him. "So…anyways…you're my dad? Mine and Daniela's?"

Dan didn't answer him back, going back to stare irritably at the spot where Junior had opened his portal.

"Uhh…well…it's just…it's really cool to actually meet you." Manny said nervously, trying to make conversation anyway. "Dad-…I mean…the Grim Reaper, he's good and all, but I always knew he couldn't be my real dad. And looking at you, it's almost like I'm looking at my future self! It's so cool! …And I was thinking…that since maybe you're sticking around for a few days until your injuries heal…maybe you'd wanna…I don't know…show me a few pointers? Teach me to be as tough as you? I mean, you have no idea how much this could help me. Not only do I meet my real father, but then you turn out to be nearly as strong as Junior and I just-!"

A black gloved fist crashed into Manny's face and by the time the teen recovered his balance from the painful hit, Dan was already tracing a green trail across the sky as he flew away.

"Owwww… What was that for?" Manny stared, rubbing his sore cheek as Dan left the castle behind him.

* * *

Grim watched Dan's trail until its green faded away into the red sky. "Good riddance." He remarked passively as he closed the blinds and turned his attentions back towards the single bed in the room.

It was the biggest they had in the castle, save for Cerberus's doggy bed (which the already aggressive dog would certainly not give up while it licked its wounds). Even then, it was barely enough of a fit for its spectral occupant, still dressed in her golden battle-gown but with her purple plumed helmet sitting on the nightstand next to her, revealing the almost militaristic buzz-cut of the same color underneath.

"Pandora." Grim spoke, his very voice nearly commanding her to awaken.

"…Lord Death?" The blue ghost said softly as she stirred, one of her many hands rubbing her sore eyes as they adjusted to the light. "Where…? What am I doing…?" The questions swam gently through her head as her brain pieced her thoughts and memories back together. But Grim could see it in her eyes when it all finally came flooding back to her. "Oh gods." She said, covering her face with her hand. "I've failed you, Lord Death."

"Ya did no such thing." Grim reassured her as he pulled up a chair to sit at her bedside.

"I doubt that is how the queen feels." Pandora's Ghost remarked.

"Well, you just let me worry about dat." He said. "I may defer to Mandy on many things but she'll still listen to what I have to say if she thinks I have a point."

Pandora's Ghost lowered her hand slowly away from her face. "Your kindness is more than I deserve, Lord Death."

"We can disagree about dat later." Grim told her. "Right now, I need you ta tell me what you remember. How did Pandora the Cursed get her box back from ye?"

The ghost looked quite upset, both from her struggle to remember and her knowledge that she'd clearly failed at her only task in life. "I'm afraid there is not much I can tell you, Lord Death. My memories are in an almost clouded haze from the weeks, if not months I was under the immortal's control." She admitted mournfully. "I remember I was attending to my usual duties when two non-ghosts arrived at my home, having already beaten the Minotaur that guard's the Acropolis's maze. Pandora I remember clearly being one of them, though I fear that is only because of how long I've been under her direct control. But the man with her…I recall nothing other than that he was extraordinarily powerful. He took me down like I was nothing."

"It was a man?" Grim asked curiously. "If it was raw power I'd have assumed it was Eris. So dere is nothing you remember about her companion? Not that he was made of metal? Or blue? Or looked like me, only with a big "hit me here" exposed brain under his hood?"

Pandora's Ghost shook her head sadly. "No. Unfortunately not, my lord. Once she brought out that…swirling red mist…that's when all the memories in my head just start to run together. I…I was powerless before its influence…"

"Well, don't feel too bad about dat one." Grim said, placing a hand on her upper left shoulder to comfort her, feeling the weight of the tiny glass ball hidden inside one of the pockets of his robe. "Dat crystal ball was used ta control ghost fer generations by a family of circus folk who liked ta use dem fer entertainin' de masses. It was finally destroyed several years ago, but it seems dat de people plottin' against me and my wife found a way ta create a new one. Seems dey're pulling out all sorts of bizarre things to fight us, as I ain't never heard of a self-repairing ragdoll body like de kind Junior and Daniela described. …Know anything about dat?"

The ghost shook her head again. "I'm sorry, Lord Death. I wish I could be of more help."

"Well, ya need not worry too much on dat part." Grim informed her, peaking her attention. "With how in de dark we still are and with Nergal Jr out of commission, we can use all de help we can get. I imagine de moment I offer yer services ta Mandy she'll put you right ta work on some horrid task that you will likely die tryin' ta accomplish."

Funny enough, the possibility of the end of her existence seemed only to brighten Pandora's Ghost's spirits, long as it came as a result of a second chance. "Thank you, father!" She expressed cheerfully. "I swear, I will not let you down again."

Grim gave an uncomfortable wince at her and it was only after a moment of confusion that the ghost realized why.

"Oh… I'm so sorry, my lord. My senses took leave of me for a moment. I'd forgotten you don't like being called that." Pandora's Ghost apologized quickly, sounding almost upset by his reaction.

"Well…not back then, anyway." Grim finally spoke awkwardly, after a just as awkward silence. "Back when I created you, being a father was de last thing I needed in my life. With Mandy still a bratty child I certainly wasn't even thinkin' of one day gettin' married, much less dat. Not to mention there are people who still claim I am de father of all unborn children because of my scythe is their first introduction to de world outside de womb. So me and fatherhood have never exactly been on de friendliest terms."

"I'm sorry, Lord Death." Pandora's Ghost said as she sat up straighter in the bed, just the upper half of her body being nearly as tall as Grim was standing up. "I did not mean to bring up such a troubling topic for you."

Not wanting her to beat herself up for it, Grim said "It is fine, Pandora. Like I said, it was more of a problem fer me back den. …Though even now ye may not want me ta claim ya as mine. I ain't exactly been doing de greatest of jobs wit de kids who do call me father. I'm Death and I couldn't keep Minnie from dying when she was in de same town as me. Manny and Daniela hardly ever listen because dere ain't much I can do fer dem. And Junior…well…"

It was back to the silence again, with Grim thrumming his fingers sullenly against the staff of his scythe. "Lord Death?" Pandora's Ghost spoke worriedly.

"…Dere's something goin' on with dat boy. Something dat's just eating him up inside." Grim explained, his quiet voice showing his concern. "I'm been getting de feelin' of it ever since he brought de twins back from Hela's realm and whatever it is, I can only imagine de Sins made it worse fer him. If I could only just talk with him fer a bit I feel dat maybe I could help him work through it. …But he's left already. He's got too much of his mother in him. He'd rather face everything on his own rather dan ask fer help. Rather dan make himself vulnerable to anyone else."

"I'm certain you have done what you can, my lord." Pandora's Ghost said, this time placing her hand on his boney shoulder to reassure him.

While he appreciated the gesture, Grim gave a soft, empty chuckle, indicating he didn't quite believe her words. "If dat were true, I wouldn't have had three out of four kids leave because dey felt dere was nothing more fer dem here. I ain't much of a father if I can't make my kids not feel like dey are better off relying just on demselves and not me."

For a moment, all was silent as Pandora's Ghost stared pitifully at the man she would never hesitate to call her master.

"Lord Death…" She said softly. "Someday I'd like to meet this Junior. And be it that I speak to him as a servant of his royal line or as another one of his sisters, there is little doubt in my mind as to how highly he would speak of you if asked. Even in my Acropolis deep in the depths of the Ghost Zone, I still heard tales of the Demon Reaper bounty hunter, who wears his likeness to the Grim Reaper proudly. Regardless of what your many lifetimes of doubts and shattered confidence has caused you to believe, the entire Underworld knows for fact that the skeleton child who left behind his life as a royal still considers himself nothing less than a child of Grim."

It was quiet again, the only noise eventually breaking through was that of the sound of bone against bone, as Grim's hand rubbed the edge of his eye socket.

"…Thank you, Pandora." The Reaper said gratefully.

* * *

"Daniela." Mandy called as she gave a courtesy knock on the bedroom door. "Daniela, I'm coming in.

One of the many perks that came with being the queen/owner of a magical Underworld castle is that no door could ever remain locked before her. She was privy to all the castle's secrets and thus all its doors and treasures were open to her. Thus went she turned the knob, the lock instantly popped open and Mandy was able to enter with no trouble. Whether this was a surprise to her daughter or not, Mandy could not say, as Daniela simply stayed seated on her bed in the dark room, arms wrapped round her curled up legs as her face stayed buried in her knees.

Closing the door gently behind her, Mandy walked over and sat down awkwardly beside her daughter on the soft purple quilted bed. When Daniela still did not look up to see her, Mandy finally spoke. "What happened was not your fault, Daniela. Yours or Manny's. You know that."

Daniela stayed quiet for minute, before slowly lifting up her head so that only her eyes were visible above her knees. "I still feel like I can almost hear its voice in my ear." She said in a voice so low and hushed it was almost nonexistent. "That Sin who looked like brother used to."

"Envy." Mandy told her, knowing immediately what she was talking about. "Junior had a bad bit of inferiority feelings when he was younger, particularly towards Minnie. I imagine it's something he still feels ashamed of himself for."

"…It knew how much I wanted to get stronger. How I hated feeling so weak." Daniela continued, a bit more wetness creeping into her dried out red eyes. "That's why I was so happy when Junior first said I could come with him after he caught me. I thought if there was anyone who could help make me better, it'd be him. But Envy kept pushing me, reminding me how lacking I still was, and how Manny didn't…how I believed Manny didn't deserve to be so much stronger than me…"

"Daniela, you weren't the only one the Sin's had an effect on." Mandy told her, taking a page from what Grim had said to her earlier. "I still feel like I need to take a bar of soap and a hand mixer to the inside of my brain after what Lust brought out in me. You have nothing to feel guilty about."

Daniela still stayed in her funk, looking ashamedly off to her side, clearly not taking her mother's words to heart. When Mandy opened her mouth to speak again, Daniela said quietly "The Sin's don't bring out anything that's not already there. …Do you think that's why Junior left me behind? That he saw that ugliness in me and…didn't want me around anymore?"

"I doubt it." Mandy said, speaking with an almost unnatural amount of casual certainly. "Like I said, Junior's dealt with his own envy before. He knows all too well what that feeling can do to a person. He'd never judge you for something like that."

When Daniela went silent again, still clearly thinking about what Junior thought of her, Mandy finally started to get the idea.

She put her hands down gently on the bed before she spoke. "Daniela…" Mandy said gently, choosing her words and tone carefully. "…Do you have a crush on Junior?"

Daniela's arms pressed her legs a little closer to her chest, surprised that she was not nearly as embarrassed as she felt she should be. "…I don't know." She said honestly, understandably looking shyly away from her mother's direction at the moment. "I barely remember him from when I was a child. At most we've only really know each other for a few days, and those day faced constant interruption by outside forces. I'd be foolish to say that I have any real feeling for him after just that short of time."

"…But…" Mandy said for her, knowing this was not the end of what Daniela needed to say.

"…But…though it was such a short period of time, I've never known another like Junior. I know it's probably just because I've rarely ventured outside of the castle and our Domain of Death, but…Junior was such a man of his world. Everyone just seemed to know who he was. Even with all the power he displayed, I still always got such a feeling of more inner strength within him. He was mysterious and cool and…and I just loved the feeling that someone like him believed in me. Thought I was worth giving a chance."

When Daniela finished her speech, Mandy raised her hand and rubbed her daughter's back gently, giving her a small moment of comfort before she spoke. "…I once had a conversation very similar to this with your sister years ago." She confided to her.

Daniela's head perked back up. "Really?"

Mandy nodded. "Back before she left home. Minnie had her own…similar feelings for Junior that you do now. Difference was she had a much harder time coming to terms with those feelings, especially with the age she was when she first realized she had them. And even after finally making peace with those feelings once HIM brought them all out into the open, she was still too afraid to do anything with them. You weren't around when Junior and Minnie were children so you'll have to take my word for it how much they did not get along before the Demon Reaper incident gave Junior some perspective. If I had to guess, after finally getting to be by Junior's side after so long, Minnie was afraid trying to push the relationship further would drive him away again. It's a risk with friends, so you can imagine how much worse that risk is with siblings."

Daniela needed a moment to finish absorbing all this new information. _"Minnie loved Junior too?"_ "…What did you say to her?" She asked carefully.

Now it was Mandy's turn to be a bit quiet. "…I told her sometimes these things just can't be helped." Mandy said, something Daniela found rather surprising coming from her mother of all people. "Sometimes people just can't help the way that they feel. And so I told her that no matter what, she'd always be my daughter, and that the only quality of mine that I demand my children to have is to not hesitate about what they want. To go after anything they deem is rightfully theirs and if the world says that they can't have it, tell the world to piss off."

Daniela gave a blink and then a small, unintentional laugh at just the pure bluntness of her mother's view. "Some might say that advice is a tad rash, mother." Daniela commented.

Mandy shrugged. "I never claimed to be good at parenting." She said offhandedly, her controlled face not showing that she was happy to see a break in her daughter's glumness.

Still chuckling a bit, Daniela asked, after working up the nerve, "So that man…mine and Manny's father, Dan…was he someone you deemed as rightfully yours?"

"Honestly what happened was I that I got turned on by watching him blow a hole through Junior's Demon Reaper Beast form and your uncle Jack's town and decided on a whim that I was going to tap that." Mandy admitted simply as breathing.

Surprisingly this answer did not upset Daniela but rather got her to laugh even harder, Mandy supposing that the girl had lived with Grim long enough that she hadn't exactly been actively looking for a father figure in her life. "I don't think I'll ever have the ability to be quite as straightforward as you, mother." Daniela breathed slowly to calm her hysteria, wiping a happy tear from her eye.

"You will. Someday." Mandy said, now taking the moment to look seriously at her daughter. "Daniela…what I'm saying to you…it's the same as I'd ever say to your brother…to Minnie…to Junior… You're my child. Someday you're going to have the entirety of existence groveling at your feet, no matter how weak you think you are now. No matter how much you think you don't deserve your blessings because of your demons. Remember…even I had to start off as a ten-year-old girl in Endsville before I met and conquered Grim."

Daniela sat in silent awe at her mother's words and after a moment passed to let them sink in, Mandy said to her. "Alright, now get out of those dirty clothes and go to bed. You and Manny both need to rest."

"…Okay." Daniela said with a simple nod, letting Mandy get up off the bed and head for the door. Opening it to leave, Daniela spoke up just to stop her for a minute. "…Thank you, mom."

Mandy gave a look back from the open doorway. "Of course, Daniela."

* * *

It was roughly fifteen minutes later when Mandy entered the steely grey lab of the castle's lower levels, the heavy metal doors sliding open before her steps. The many skeletons, scientists as evidenced by their white lab coats, were quick to greet their queen with a crowd of salutes.

"Good day, my queen." The head researcher bowed directly to Mandy as the other skeletons returned to their various tasks on the computers around the room. "I must admit, we were expecting you down here sooner."

"I went to go make sure Manny went to bed like I told him to." She answered evenly. "Thankfully, he seems to be asleep right now. So, what do you have for me, Robertson?"

"Unfortunately, just the Pumpkinator's old data files so far. But we are of course still digging." The skeleton answered, leading his majesty to the center of the lab, where a heavily mutilated and unrecognizably scarred chunk of metal and flesh floated, submerged in the large cylindrical tank hooked up to the majority of the machinery in the room. "Quite the curious one, isn't he?" Robertson commented to her. "No brain activity, no heartbeat, both because they're missing. Lungs practically non-existent. Nervous system shorted out about the same time as the rest of his cybernetics. By all accounts this man is very, very dead and yet, still his soul remains trapped within and keeping what's left functioning."

"When my husband makes something immortal, he makes it to last." Mandy remarked evenly. "Keep me informed of any progress. I want to know the moment we get anything on the bastards dumb enough to go to war with us."

"Of course, my queen." Robertson bowed lowly before returning to his own duties in monitoring Jack O' Lantern, while Mandy just stayed and stared tensely at the floating carcass.

" _We're coming for you."_ Mandy thought to her enemies, wherever they were. _"Make all the plans you'd like. Hide wherever you want. But you know just as well as I do… Your days are numbered."_

* * *

"Fuck." Morg cursed. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffFUCK!"

"Yes, that most certainly sums up our current situation." Boogie remarked as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing the space between his eyes as he fought through a painful headache. Both were surrounding the nice large round metal table that sat in the very center of the room, though Morg was the only one standing, fuming heavily as he paced back and forth next to the windows overlooking the Martian landscape outside.

"I swear, the only way this day could go any more down the toilet would be if Mandy just randomly decided to use this planet as target practice for some new doomsday weapon she has!" Morg went on.

"Which I'm sure she'd have already done if she knew for sure that we were here, so why don't you calm down?" Boogie offered in exhaustion.

"Calm down?" The alien reaper repeated, sounding greatly offended. "Calm down?! I don't know how you villains do things back on Earth, but on Mars when your big evil scheme and your identity is exposed to the enemy because of two impatient traitors, generally we have the right to be very pissed off!"

Boogie almost couldn't believe that he of all people was the one in control of his temper in this situation. "Yes, Grim and Mandy know we're out to get them. But from what Drax has showed us, Lantern and Pandora didn't give them anything more than our names and even then, not the names of everyone in our group, thus why we didn't need to withdraw them from their positions back in the Underworld." He reminded him collectedly. "It's not as bad as it looks and with the bird's message we've bought ourselves a little more time while they try and tread carefully. At most we've lost just a little bit of ground and a few soldiers."

"A few?!" Morg roared. "Not only did that prankster idiot destroy the box, but the samurai failed in his mission! We lost not only his body and soul but the sword too! The only thing capable of killing the Chi girl and now Aku has it! Not to mention how screwed we are if Mandy gets anything out of all that hardware we built into Lantern."

"Oh please." Said the smug voice from the other end of the table. The two men had been so consumed by their argument that'd they'd nearly forgotten there was another sitting with them, he and his standing Basilican Cyborg having been quietly watching them fight up until this moment. "You don't think I'd trust anything too important or valuable to that headless oaf, do you?" The red-haired man laughed at the thought, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "The man wanted an exploding cream pie cannon for god's sake. He was hardly ever going to be an integral part our plans. Fact is he may have actually served us far more in his destruction than he ever would have otherwise."

"I take it the data you recorded from Lantern's eyes came back promising then, Drax?" Boogie asked, happy to finally have a bit of good news for a change.

"Oh my, yes." Drax remarked proudly. "The prince's little hellfire transformation took us all by surprise but just as we've lost some of our secrets, now so has he. I'm certain I can find a way to counter it and upgrade Empheles accordingly."

"How I do look forward to you shoving more chips and wires into what remains of my flesh." The eyeless red-horned demon remarked dryly.

"As do I." Drax chuckled, either not noticing or not caring about his pet's sarcasm. "Besides, Morg, the box and the samurai are hardly a sizable loss for us. We've been building a far more agreeable army to suite our upcoming needs and it's already in the final stages of development now that we've acquired the proper genetic material. Especially in regards to the more 'elite' models you yourself have been aiding me in creating. The samurai's body is a mere child's toy in comparison to their sophistication."

"But without the girl's soul it's not complete." Morg reminded him. "At least, not as complete as… _he_ …has been demanding it to be."

Drax laughed at the Reaper's sudden whispering tone. "Still feeling guilty over the master needing to come and bail you out of your failure?" He mocked.

"The samurai's defeat and Jack O' Lantern's betrayal were not my fault." Morg spat with a glare.

"No, but being overwhelmed by a little girl most certainly was."

"Don't make me make your right eye match your left." Morg threatened, though Drax still continued to ridicule him, in spite of the reminder of his scarring deformity.

"Enough." Boogie stated loudly, silencing both as his single exposed eye glanced between the two of them, giving them plenty of fair warning as to what would happen otherwise. "We always knew that there were going to be setbacks and we're prepared for most of them. Morg, since they know you're in league with us, it's no longer safe for us to use Mars as our base. Tell Creeper and the rest of the crew to set course back to Earth and for one of the safe locations we've set aside."

Morg cast a glare back at Drax, whom still sat with that self-important smirk splashed across his face. But though he hated being ordered like this, he himself had come up with this emergency measure with the Boogieman and knew that it was the correct move to make. "Fine." He said simply, still allowing his bitterness to show through as he turned and stormed out of the conference room.

"Cheery one, isn't he?" Drax chuckled.

"Drax," Boogie said, now turning to him. "Go back to your lab and continue your work on our army. Keep me informed of all progress and delays, especially in regards to Number 001."

"Oh, yes. You're little side project. The very reason you came and sought me out." Drax remarked with amusement. "How could I ever forget about your fun little hobby?"

"Drax…" Boogie warned lowly.

"Oh, relax yourself, boss. I never said I wasn't going to do it." Drax said, still chuckling but knowing not to push the Boogieman too much further. Lifting up his arm and activating the electronics within his red glove, Drax said "Daedalus, do get my laboratory prepped up, won't you?"

"It is not like I have any choice in the matter." Said a voice on the other end, sounding almost exactly like Drax, though the faux Russian accent was nearly completely overshadowed by his monotone speech, indicating he was in fact a computer program.

"No. No you don't." Drax said, loving the cruelty of it all. "Come along, Empheles." He ordered his pet cyborg as he got up from the table.

The mad scientist was about halfway to the door, Empheles following close behind him, when Drax suddenly stopped himself and turned back to the Boogieman. "Oh. Before I forget, you'll be happy to know that The Pool finally took to the young Harper girl's samples and stabilized."

Boogie gave Drax an indeed intrigued look. "That is good news."

Drax then gave an awkward cough. "Yes, well…unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the Youngblood samples. As I believed, my technology is simply not compatible with ectoplasmic biology. I was hoping to perhaps run a few more higher risk tests on the ghost we captured, but in her stooopidness Pandora lost both her and crystal ball. With that we could at least have snatched up another one."

"We can make another ball." Boogie said, unworried by this bit of news. "For now I'm sure I can make do with what we've already collected in The Pool."

"Of course, sir." Drax said, adjusting his glasses again, much more soft spoken than he was before, clearly more obsessed with this particular shortcoming of his technology than the Boogieman was. "…That being said…" Drax started back up. "Once we launch our big attack against the Grim family, I don't suppose you would mind if I took one or both of their Phantom brats for…research purposes? See if I can use them to work this particular bug out?"

For the first time all day, Boogie's face finally cracked a smile. "I don't see why not."

* * *

Minutes later and Boogie could be seen walking through the halls of the base, his robe sweeping along the floor before he stopped at one of the residential doors on the hall's right side. Upon the knobless sliding steel door he gave three quick knocks.

"Thud, for the last time, you don't get any more cereal until you've finished cleaning out Jean's birdcage!" Yelled the woman from inside the room, her voice sounding about as naturally British as Drax's was Russian. Not horrible, but clearly not original. "Father only knows when she's last been out of it long enough to even put down fresh paper."

Boogie gave the same number of knocks again.

"For the love of the Elysian Fields…" Boogie heard the exasperated motions of someone getting up and moving hurriedly towards the door. "Thud, if I find even a speck of molten bird droppings, you're the one who's going to be sleeping in that cage from now o-!" Eris cut herself off when the door slid open and she found herself staring into the eye and patch of the Boogieman, standing roughly the same height as herself. "Oh…it's you." She said, no longer angry but her tone far less respectful than Morg's or even Drax's had been with him. "What do you want?"

"We had a meeting." Boogie reminded her, quite used to this attitude from the goddess by now. "You didn't show up."

"Why would I?" Eris asked pointedly, leaning with her shoulder against the doorframe. "It's not like I'm a part of this league of super losers of yours by choice. So you'll have to forgive me for exerting what little freedom I have."

It was silence that filled the scene as the two stared challengingly at the other, daring them to say something else. The silence was only broken by Boogie saying what'd he'd really come here for. "I need to speak to the master."

Eris's glare sharpened further, looking like she was ready to outright deck him for even asking. Not that she could refuse him, of course.

"Fine." She practically hissed as she stormed back into her room, Boogie following behind her in a much more calm manner. Eris yanked the golden apple from off the top of her bedside nightstand and after squeezing it in her angry hand for a minute, threw the divine fruit down into the center of the room.

The apple bounced twice before landing perfectly upright, its top half opening right up like a ring box. With its mystical energies pouring out and surrounding the two, both Boogie and Eris were quickly sucked into the apple.

It was impossible to keep one's eyes open during the journey and thus Boogie was forced into darkness like he had been every time before this, soon after reopening his eye to find himself in an entirely different location. A single wide square room composed entirely of golden brick and kept lit only by the two large bonfires atop a few steps, sitting ahead of a single plush purple throne surrounded by a variety of treasure. Whether this glorious room was the inside of the apple or another dimension and location entirely, Boogie could not say. He supposed that gods of all people liked to keep some secrets for themselves.

"You'll understand if I stay over here, I take it?" Eris asked, not caring to wait for the answer, moving over the lean against the side wall to wait until this was over.

Boogie ignored her presence entirely, moving to get down on one knee before the steps and bow deeply. "Master." He lowered his head to the throne.

It was a rapid twirling of whiteness as the God of Magic's open white duster jacket spun into existence above the seat cushion, the rest of his body following soon after to fill it. He still wore the darkened sunglasses he had been when saving Morg from Aku's Palace, though if it were not from the bonfires' reflections in them Boogie wouldn't have been able to tell that. His master's face was cast almost completely in darkness by the shadow created by the unruly tuft of messy brown hair atop his head. Given that Boogie had seen the god's full face plenty of times in the past, the dream demon could only assume he did this for style and to cast a more intimidating presence while in this room.

To Boogie's surprise though, his master greeted him quite warmly. "Boogie, my man. My Boogieman. How's it going? Dragonball? Just got 'em fresh from Universe 7." He asked, offering the servant a small orange sphere from the tray of seven Boogie now realized was sitting on the arm of the throne.

"Uh…no, master, but thank you." Boogie politely declined, a bit befuddled by his master's friendly tone.

"Suite yourself." The God of Magic shrugged and took a bite out of the orb, the sound of shattering and crunching glass causing Boogie to give a quick wince. "Mmm. Is it weird that I thought that this would taste a bit more citrus? Or is that too obvious? Clichéd as it may be, you'd be amazed how often magic tastes like chicken."

Boogie found it a bit more of a challenge to work up the nerve to speak, afraid of ruining the man's mood. "M-Master… I don't know if you've heard of this yet, but…there was an incident, involving the betrayal of two of our own."

"I know all about Pandora and Jack O' Lantern, Boogie." The God of Magic cut him off, wiping the remaining bits of glass off his face before picking another ball off the tray. "Heard about it the moment the cyborg cut off communications with Morg and watched the whole big battle at the same time you lot did from his live-streaming camera eyes."

"Oh!" Boogie said, stunned even further. But then, what less could he have expected? "Well…forgive my rudeness then, master, but I'm surprised to see you're not angered over any of this."

The god gave a hearty chuckle. "Boogie. Boogie, Boogie, Boogie." He said, shaking his head. "Ohhh…I'm not just angry. I'm absolutely furious." The orb exploded in his clenched fist like a shotgun blast, causing even Eris to give a frightened jump like Boogie's. The magical vapors leaked out of the dusty shards of the ball but the god simply sucked them in through his nose with a single deep, tense breath. "Years upon years of planning and preparation, all nearly shot right to hell by an immortal schoolgirl and a literally brainless pumpkin bumpkin. Grim and Mandy now know we're after them. We've lost Jack's soul and sword and the box of all the evils of mankind, which by the way I was greatly looking forward to as a post-victory meal, has been completely destroyed. Oh yes, Boogie. I'm quite beyond angry right now."

The words just barely left his trembling lips. "But then…why are you still smiling?" The Boogieman asked fearfully.

At his servant's words, the god's mad grin grew all the more apparent. "You saw him too in that fight, didn't you, Boogie? How much stronger he's grown?" The God of Magic gave an almost disbelieving laugh as he shook his head. "I mean, I knew Mandy wasn't going to take it easy on the kid but goddamn! Box's monsters? Gone! Seven Deadly Sins? Gone! Undying cyborg built specifically to take him on? Way gone! I'm actually almost sad our two little traitors didn't steal more from us, just so I could see more. Oh! I've still got shivers from it all!"

"…Wasn't that impressive, master." Boogie grumbled as he looked off to the side.

"Oh, don't get all jealous on me now, Boogie." The god said humorously. "If all goes according to plan you and Junior will be working alongside each other someday soon."

The Boogieman grunted at this suggestion but did not argue harshly against it. "You understand why I have my doubts over how well we'll get along, my master."

"Well, just have a little faith." The god smiled. "I have after all been working towards my goal for far longer than you even remembered, remember?"

"Of course I have faith, master." Boogie said honestly. "In you above all others. You were the one who found me in that asylum and gave me back my mind. You know I'll do whatever I can to repay you for that."

"Especially since you know the rewards you'll reap by doing so." The god added with a mirthful smirk. "And do not worry. I have not forgotten the promise I made to you. You help me take my revenge on Mandy and her husband, and I'll help grant you everything you've ever dreamed of. Just like that."

The Boogieman's body trembled, hardly about to contain his excitement from the thought of it all. After all these years, they were finally so close. It was only the promise of this reward that'd managed to restrain him all this time from repeating the same mistake as the two traitors.

"Master…" Boogie groveled even lower than he'd bowed before. "Please…can I see it all again? Can I see…her…again?"

The god smiled darkly and rose up from his chair. "Of course." He said as he walked down the steps towards his servant. "I would not be as close as I am now were it not for your loyalty. This is but a small show of my gratitude."

Boogie lifted his head back up and the god pointed his relaxed finger between the bridge of his blue nose. Upon the point, the Boogieman's exposed eye glowed softly with a mixture of pink and golden colors, and a look of pure bliss washed over his features. "Thank you, master. Thank you." He breathed, so happy he looked as though he were about to cry.

After a moment passed, the god retracted his hand and the color faded. "Don't grow addicted to these visions, Boogie. Trust me, they will be laughable in comparison when you finally acquire the real thing."

Readjusting himself after the shock of coming back down to reality, Boogie bowed his head low again.

"We'll need to move up some of our plans, now that Mandy knows about us." The god said, getting back to the matter at hand. "With our timetable pressed we'll have to forget about Chi and the sword, for now, and focus entirely on Grimskull. Once the army is finished and we're back on Earth I want everyone ready on stand-by until I give the order. Proud as I may be of Junior's new power, we can't risk him interfering in the battle again, even with Drax confident as he is that he can find a way to beat him."

"I take it you believe there is a way of removing him from the equation, master?" Boogie asked.

"I have some ideas." The god said. "During that battle, I think I saw something, possibly even a few somethings, that we perhaps can use to our advantage. But for now, return to the base. I'll explain more later when we're in a better position to act."

Boogie bowed his head once more before standing back to his feet. Both he and his master looked over to the room's side, where Eris still leaned with her back to the wall, staring intently at the other god.

"What?" The God of Magic asked daringly.

"…Nothing." Eris said, getting up from the wall and walking towards Boogie. "…Master." She added as a bitter afterthought, though the god said nothing against it.

With a wave of her hand, she and Boogie were both sucked and stretched back up through the infinity of the ceiling, leaving their master alone in the room.

"After all this time…" He remarked to himself as he walked back to his throne. "You won't be able to keep him from me much longer, Mandy. I'm finally going to meet our son."

* * *

Junior shivered heavily as he sat with his back against the wedged into the ground Dragonslayer. It was not due to any cold. Not only with the roaring campfire sitting before him but also the blazing flames coating the entirety of his right forearm as he held it before his face. No, this was a shiver of deep struggling, for as the redder the flame grew the less it seemed like it wanted to obey him. It was only with the deepest pit of concentration and will that he managed to dig up that Junior was finally able to put out the fire, returning the black Nergal flesh to his bones.

" _It's finally corrupting the Rider's power as well."_ Junior finally admitted to himself as he let the arm rest at his side. _"How much longer until it overtakes the rest of me?"_

Junior stayed flopped against his broadsword, staring into the fire as his thoughts struggled in the peaceful silence. Unable to think of anything else, Junior's chest opened itself up and he reach in to pull out the purple hardcover book that bore his one-eyed skull as part of its design. It was no more damaged than it'd been before. Surprising, given that not but a few hours ago he'd been completely on fire and injured multiple times before that. If he had an actual heart Junior was sure it'd fit some metaphor of some kind.

" _When you gave me this book, you told me if I ever needed help I should come to you right away, no matter the risk."_ Junior thought as he slid his hands gently against the book cover's fabric, not even opening it. _"But…would you still have said that if you could have seen yourself through my eyes? If you could have seen the full extent of what I did to you? You'd have never forgiven yourself if you did that to me. Why do you expect that I'd feel any less guilty? Make all the excuses for me you want, you know why I can't see you again…"_

Junior's hands trembled again and he slowly pressed his forehead down on the book. _"But…I still need to see you. I still want to see you."_ Junior could see the droplets hitting the cover. He was starting to cry and he was too tired to bother fighting against it. _"I'm so scared. I don't know what I might do next or to who. Before…you were the only one who could help me. But if what happened last time happens again… Minnie, I don't know what to do!"_

He sat, for minutes on end, sobbing quietly into the book, when suddenly all his senses became alert at the sound of a single footstep behind him.

Bolting upward immediately, Junior dropped the book and ripped Dragonslayer out of the ground by its hilt. "You picked a bad day to sneak up on me, motherfucker!" Junior yelled fiercely as he swung the sword blindly at his target.

It was at the last second he saw what Dragonslayer sliced into: a small golden apple, having been thrown into the air. The moment the blade made contact with its skin, the apple exploded with a force far greater than its size and Junior was sent flying back.

"Do simmer down, won't you?" Said a woman's voice as Junior quickly shook himself off the ground. "Honestly, is this how you greet everyone who comes to offer you a job?"

When his dazed vision returned to him, Junior looked to where he'd heard her and found the toga-wearing blond woman still standing where he'd attacked, the Reaper quickly realizing he'd seen her digital photo earlier that same day.

"Hold on, you're…you're that Eris woman Lantern was talking to!" Junior said as he stood.

"Goddess of Chaos. The one and only." Eris proclaimed proudly, striking a small pose. "At least, far as I know, anyway. I don't really pay much attention to the lesser mythologies."

Still slightly stunned from her sudden presence, one which stood out greatly from the dry, dead mountainous wasteland around her, Junior quickly picked back up Dragonslayer and held it defensibly before himself, ready to fight the goddess back.

"So I take it you didn't hear me about the job offer?" Eris asked, seeming unafraid of the massive blade pointed right at her.

Junior's gaze didn't falter, though he still did not yet strike. "You want to hire me?"

"You are a bounty hunter, are you not?"

"I am. Just one who doesn't take on my clients blindly." Junior said. "Clients like those who try and hurt my family by sending robot pumpkins with missile launchers after them."

"Yes, it's debatable how well that gamble paid off, isn't it?" Eris commented, genuinely pondering over the thought in her head. "Arrogant as Jack O' Lantern might be, even he was afraid to go against the alliance without a little insurance, and what better insurance could one have than a goddess on one's side? The answer? One who was ever actually going to help him. I was hoping his and the girl's betrayal would help end this whole thing but all it seems to have done is speed up the timetable. There's still going to be an attack, just one that'll happen a lot sooner than before."

Junior realized what she was say and slightly lowered Dragonslayer. "You're also a traitor?" He asked in surprise.

"In that I'm going against the wishes of an alliance I never wanted to be a part of then yes, I suppose I am." Eris shrugged simply. "Course Lantern nearly blew my cover when he was stupid enough to try and contact me during the battle, but I think I was able to allay enough suspicion off me when I told the others he'd misunderstood and that my promise to help him was to give him back his old human body when this was all over. But enough about that. My job offer. There's a man I hate and I want him dead. And I believe you are the only one who stands a chance making that happen, in so far as you're the least likely to get immediately vaporized the moment you come at him."

Junior eyed the goddess carefully. "…Who is it?" He asked, wary of her answer.

"I can't say." Eris said.

"…I'm going to cut your head off now." Junior said, at the end of his patience.

"No, I mean I literally cannot say who it is." Eris added before Junior held back up his blade. "See?"

Eris stuck out her tongue for Junior to get a good look. Imprinted on its flesh was a half gold and half pink pentagram star with red lines. The symbol itself meant nothing to Junior but the soft glow of the mark as it was exposed to the open air reminded the Reaper of something he'd recently seen.

"That's a Master's Brand." Junior said in quiet shock.

Eris nodded as she rolled back in her tongue. "Yes, it is. The same kind that the samurai you fought had branded on his tongue. It was given to us by the same person. The man I want you to kill. The man whose name I can't even say aloud as it is one of his many secrets his mark keeps me from spilling."

Junior needed a moment to wrap his head around this. "But…aren't you a goddess? How did someone manage to make a brand of servitude on you of all people?"

There was a definite look of rage in Eris's eyes as she thought back to when it'd happened. "Let's just say that years ago, there was a mortal that I took interest in. One whose chaotic potential was greater than any I'd ever seen before, surpassing even that of your mother and that idiot friend of hers. I couldn't let such a gift and potential tool go to waste and so I took him under my wing as my student, in both magic and anarchy. …But, unfortunately, I underestimated how quickly his power was growing and soon he became strong enough to overwhelm me. He decided he no longer wanted to be student and teacher anymore and thought what better way to display his new power than by having a goddess as his slave."

"…I'm…I'm sorry." Junior said, amazed at himself for actually feeling sorry for an enemy. Especially since, as far as he knew, she could be lying about the whole thing. The brand might not be fake but her disloyalty could be. "But still…why come to me?"

"Because my master's putting his big attack on hold until he's sure you're out of the way." Eris explained. "The brand keeps me from revealing why, but believe me when I say that as long as you're in the fight and able to come to your mother's aid, he is at a disadvantage. The Master's Brand only fades under two conditions: the master either removes it himself, and you can guess how unlikely that is to happen, or the master is killed. If I'm going to be free, I need someone who can bring him down and you have the best shot of it. I need your help."

Junior fell quiet, giving it some serious thought as to if this were some kind of trick. She seemed sincere enough but he certainly wouldn't be surprised if a goddess of chaos turned out to be a convincing liar. "You understand why I'm having trouble trusting someone my parents viewed as an enemy for years, even if you are telling the truth."

"Then make it a deal with me." Eris offered straightly. "You may not be Grim but you're still a Reaper, aren't you? And no one, not even a god, can go back on a deal with a Reaper. Not even the Reaper himself, in Grim's case. If I'm lying about my intentions, then the deal will break immediately and my soul will be forfeit to you. How does that sound?"

Junior considered the idea. "A deal with a Reaper usually implies some kind of gain or equal exchange of stakes." He pointed out. "I know what you get out of me somehow killing your boss. What is it that I get out of this?"

Eris finally smiled again. "I did say that I was hiring you for the job, didn't I? You help me with my problem and in return I help you with yours."

"Oh yeah? And what exactly would my problem be?" Junior asked curiously.

"Why, the lust you have for Mandy, of course."

It happened so fast Eris barely had time to react to it. A flash of silver and black cutting through the air where her head would have been, followed by Dragonslayer striking the ground so hard Eris was sent knocked back onto her rear from the force.

"I can't let you leave here alive." Junior stated darkly as he heaved the sword back up, glaring at the goddess with cold murder in his eyes.

"Go right ahead. The real me is back at base, keeping my master's attention while he's talking to the Boogieman Grim hates so much." Eris said, not even a drop of sweat coming off her perfect frame to indicate she was bluffing. "How else could I have contacted you with my master noticing? Even if this was the real me, it wouldn't do you any good. Not with the others still alive anyway."

Junior's grip on Dragonslayer's hilt tightened. "They know too?" He asked with a low growl.

"How do you think I found out?" Eris pointed out, standing back to her feet. "We've been watching you for a while now, Junior. My master even longer. You can sleep around with as many women and queens as you want but sometimes, some things are just obvious if you're watching for long enough. Especially when one of our members can see into people's dreams."

After a moment of silence, Junior lowered the iron blade into the ground in defeat.

"But if I help you be rid of these feelings, then them knowing won't be a problem, will it?" Eris smiled, seeing her opening to get him on her side.

"How can you possibly help me?" Junior asked bitterly.

"My half-sister is Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, and her son is Eros, also known as Cupid." Eris explained. "I know a thing or two about love. I even used it to start a war back in the day. I know well how love works and I also know a few ways to take it away."

"What I'm feeling is not love!" Junior shouted angrily.

"Okay! Okay!" Eris quickly said to calm him. "But what it is is something you want to be rid of, don't you?" She asked, getting Junior to cast a guilty look at the ground. "You help me, free me of the man who has claimed me as his property, and I'll use the many gifts of the gods to rid you of your lustful feelings for Mandy. You can go back to the way things used to be with your family. You won't have to live in your self-exile anymore. What do you say?"

Eris held out her hand for Junior to take it. For what felt like an eternity of endless minutes, Junior stared at the outstretched limb, both sides of his brain locked in a furious debate over all the implications accepting or refusing the goddess's deal could mean. For a moment, it seemed to Eris that Junior was about to refuse. But then, the Reaper's gaze shifted over to his campfire, where his eyes cast down on the purple hardcover book still lying in dirt where he'd dropped it, the eye of the skull on the cover staring back at his own.

His glare sharpening as he made up his mind, Junior slapped his hand into Eris's own and shook it. Eris smiled happy as to how things had worked out but then Junior used his grip on her hand to pull her forward and stare directly into her eyes from less than an inch away.

"If you betray me on this, in any way, use some sort of loophole that the deal doesn't cover, I will kill you." Junior warned her. "I will kill you and then I will do much, much worse."

Taken back at first from the threat, Eris was quick to return his stare. "I have nothing left because of the man who's enslaved me. Whatever little I'd gain from betraying you is worthless in comparison to the life I want back."

Junior looked at her for a moment more. "…Just making sure." He said before letting her go. "So…since you can't tell me anything specific about this master of yours you want me kill, I assuming you have some sort other way of letting me know what the hell you expect me to do?"

Eris rubbed her sore hand and gave the Reaper a sly smile. "Of course."

"Well?" Junior asked before noticing that Eris was starting to turn gold.

"I leave you with a vague, cryptic message; its meaning for you to decode. A favorite hobby of those in folklore and mythology and something even the Master's Brand can't extent to." Eris explained as all other color and texture left her features and clothes, replaced by the smooth golden shine. "Do listen closely dear: _If you want to know the truth, go talk to the man who loves to lie._ "

Eris's pupil-less gold body quickly inflated like a balloon, welling up several sizes before finally bursting loudly, leaving nothing of herself behind. Not even an apple.

All was silent now in the area, save for the crackles of the campfire. Quietly Junior walked back over to it and picked up the fallen book, gently brushing the dirt off the cover and back. It'd taken barely a second of thought for Junior to figure out what the goddess's words had meant. It seemed so obvious now, he thought as he stared intently into the flames. Of all people, of course he'd have something to do with all this.

"HIM." Junior practically growled.

 **Chapter End**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Guess who's in the next chapter, bitches?! That's right, the one and only Lord of Tainted Souls himself (or HIMself): Kare, aka HIM. You knew I couldn't keep his infernal majesty out of this story forever. Not when I've been mentioning him and teasing him in flashbacks. Especially not when Mimi is also in this story. Both he and Junior are going have quite a bit to say to each other.

And yes, the God of Magic Aku is afraid of is also Junior's biological father. Because by golly I'm amazed I've gone this long without having a story about who Junior's father could be. For obvious reasons (and because I'm a tease) I'm not going to say who he really is, though you are of course free to guess. My one hint is that the God of Magic is not an OC but he is a character that's been heavily changed from how he used to be because of all he's been through over the years, which will be explained in the story later.

Speaking of parentage, Mandy is right about not being the best at parenting, or at least in having trouble viewing her children as not like she was at their age. As a child and I'm guessing as a teen Mandy was a lot more logical and sure of herself than her kids are, especially Manny and Daniela, and I'd think someone like Mandy would have trouble dealing with that. She's not stupid but some people are more easily empathetic than others, especially in Mandy's case where she rarely ever showed empathy because most people were simply beneath her notice, which is something her children are not.

Apparently Drax knows who Mandy is but she doesn't know him. Wonder what's the story there? This does make him the only person in the villains' alliance that Mandy doesn't personally know. She does have a history with the God of Magic (obviously, since they had a kid together) but she doesn't know he's involved in all this (or does she?).

As you probably guessed, I made up the part about Zeus tricking Eris into putting her power into her apple. I was just trying to think of some explanation for why she was so dependent on her apple in the original show and that's what I thought of. It's honestly not much of a stretch in my opinion. Zeus did practically the same thing to Kratos in the God of War games and in the actual mythology he is very paranoid of one of his children overthrowing him like he did his own father.

Now you might be asking yourself, Aros001, I know it was just a one-off joke/reference, but how can the God of Magic be eating the Dragon Balls if Dragon Ball Z is a TV show in this universe? My answer to that is that I had Boba Fett back in chapter 4 and Junior flat out said that the Star Wars movies are on VHS in this universe. Multiverse, baby! Everything exists for real in some universe out there.

Sorry about any delay on this chapter. Like I said before, these updates will be every week or every other week, depending on the chapter (and how lazy I was feeling that week). But my basic idea is that you wouldn't have to wait more than two weeks at most for a new chapter.

* * *

 **QTP:** Can Eris be trusted? Why does the Boogieman now have an eyepatch over his left eye? Why did the alliance take Nergal Jr's eyes if there's no power transfer by taking them by force? Why did the God of Magic choose the Boogieman of all people to help him? What jobs will Grim and Mandy have Pandora's Ghost do now that she's back on their side? How did Mandy and the God of Magic first meet and how did it eventually result in Junior? Why, in all 28 years since Junior's been aborted, have he and his biological father never met before? And what will HIM have to say about what's been going on?


	14. HIM

**Part 14: HIM**

 **desdelor97:** Thank you.

 **DPSS:** Don't worry. They will come across each other eventually again later.

1.) The Underworld is known for its loopholes.

2.) Can I just say that your response/reaction to this question is the best I've seen so far? It genuinely made me laugh (in the good way).

3.) I suppose you're not wrong when it comes to magic and arcane science.

4.) Not a bad theory actually.

5.) Surprisingly, no.

6.) I can respect that.

7.) More than likely.

8.) It's amazing how close you are, actually.

 **Deadpool517:** I can certainly see why you'd think that.

 **Lord Razer:** Lots of people guessing Timmy. When it comes to Grim Tales I honestly haven't thought much about what would have happened to Ben in this future. He never really came up much as he doesn't seem like anyone Mimi or Mandy would have known. I'll definitely give the Eon idea some thought though. Probably have to re-watch some episodes too. I stopped watching the show after Ultimate Alien as I just couldn't stand Ben in Omniverse.

While I obviously can't yet say what Mandy did to Drax, I will say that what she did had the exact consequences she intended. Mandy might be a protagonist in this story but she's still f**king evil and has been for a very long time.

I unfortunately don't remember a lot about Berserk so the most thought I put into Junior getting Dragonslayer as he took on the bounty for Griffith, Guts told him to back off because Griffith was for him to kill, and Junior had to fight off both of them while they were also trying to kill each other. But like Junior said, that was one of the few times he used the Ghost Rider's power in a fight since he first got it, so he had a power boost regardless.

 **AMTT94:** Lots of people guessing and imagining Timmy. I don't want to give too many hints too early, but I will correct you on this: Eris and Aku said that the Master's Brand is an ancient form of magic, not that the mark itself was ancient. Meaning the God of Magic himself isn't necessarily ancient either.

Don't worry, I am planning for Aku and Chi to have bigger shows of power later, so even if they are being underestimated, that's to the enemy's failing, not theirs.

 **Valtek:** Yeah, my thoughts about Mandy's view of incest is that as long as her kids don't go getting each other pregnant then she's fine with it (because she does not want genetically malformed grandchildren).

1.) True that, especially in the Underworld.

2.) …Actually, now that I think about it, from a certain point of view that guess is not far off from the truth.

3.) Again, really close guess.

4.) I'd like to think so.

5.) Probably.

6.) Ooh, there was more than one night between those two, if ya catch my meaning (wink wink, nudge nudge, and bob's yer uncle).

7.) Much more the first than the second.

8.) I've heard worse names. For now, I have Junior's official last name as Tiller, which Griddles, the former Grim Tales writer, said is Mandy's last name in this continuity. As far as I know Grim doesn't have a familial last name, probably because he and his family have existed since before last names were really a thing.

 **DarkDremora:** I really appreciate your kind words. Funny enough I only really got into fanfiction because I was really enjoying the Grim Tales comic and wanted to keep reading something when I reached the last uploaded page during that time (I believe it was just when the Cthulhu train was arriving in Aku City).

I will not confirm or deny that the God of Magic is Timmy, as that's what a lot of people are guessing, but I will confirm that it is not Sora, as I've never played Kingdom Hearts and thus don't know a lot about him. For the most part I try to avoiding using characters from franchises I don't personally know much about.

1.) Definitely true on chaos requiring freedom.

2.) Well, that is what I'm basing parts of this story on, so definitely not a bad guess.

3.) Definitely to send a message, but remember what Mandy and Grim said. Nergal Jr's eyes will eventually grow back.

4.) Funny enough the truth is almost exactly the opposite of that.

5.) For these three guesses: probably, I didn't think of this one but it is a good idea, and I feel Lord Pain would be the default Captain/General of Mandy's armies if a replacement was needed.

6.) She did know about him during her Megaville days but didn't not know him personally.

7.) Pretty close to the truth.

8.) That sounds pretty damn accurate to HIM's character.

For your questions: Junior is still in the Domain of Death but far closer to its borders than the castle. Junior and Daniela are no longer traveling together but this most certainly will not be the last time they encounter each other outside their parent's realm.

I do already have plans for how Manny and Daniela are going to work to overcome their faults (this chapter will show one of them, while the other is to come a bit later). However, that should not discourage you from speaking your mind, as like I tell most everyone who reads my stories, I always read the reviews people post and I like listening to the ideas people offer up. So if you have some ideas, feel free to tell me about them.

 **nightmaster000:** Oh, the taking of the Nergal eye (and other parts of Nergal Jr) is definitely going to come back into play later. In two different ways, actually.

In Empire of Death I had thought about HIM maybe being Junior's father, but the little I did do with that idea was mostly subtext and didn't really amount to much significance. Honestly, if I hadn't thought about what the God of Magic's history and motivation must have been like up until this point I probably still wouldn't have done anything with a Junior's father story idea. To answer your question though, the Dragon Balls were not Discord inspired as I've never seen My Little Pony. I'm sure it's a good show, given how many people like it, but it just doesn't seem like it's for me.

1.) Without giving too much away, there's nothing Eris values at this point in her life other than her freedom. With the exception of how she gets it.

2.) I do have a plan for Minnie, don't you worry. Though it'll probably take a while before we get there.

3.) Like you guessed before, coming back later in a big way.

4.) Kind of a combination of all three, really.

5.) More prep work than anything.

6.) Fair enough.

7.) Can't say too much yet, but I will say that Mandy didn't have the power needed to lock him up so she focused on keeping him out.

8.) Oh, HIM always gets a laugh out of the Grim family's troubles. He's a man who enjoys the simple things in life, such as the misery of those he hates.

 **Kelly Fiction:** Wow. I'm…actually very flattered by all that. Thank you. I kind of started writing Grim Tales stuff on a whim (also because I became really obsessed with the story and characters) and it's a really cool thing to have someone think my stories are on par with the comic itself, so thank you very much for all that. Funny thing about details like Billy's door and such: I think what happened was that I found the Grim Tales comic by accident and that made me really want to go back and binge-watch the old show. While watching it I wondered about certain things that might reappear in the comic like Boogie and Limbo did and some of those ideas, specifically Pandora, eventually carried over to my own stories. It's just funny how things like that work out (especially since I only stumbled across Grim Tales while looking on Google Images for fan art of Dan Phantom).

Also, I love the Anti GriMandy Legion. I'll need to keep that in mind for the future. So far I've just been calling the group E.V.I.L in my head (Every Villain Is Lemons) until I come up with an actual name for them, if I ever do.

Also also, it's a hard pick between Grim and Mandy for my favorite Grim Adventures character. Grim is more sympathetic and his personality is very fun. But Mandy is one of my favorite female cartoon characters of all time. She's just Doctor Doom/Lex Luthor levels of evil and self-importance, but in a way where she backs it all up. She thinks she's better than everyone around her because she usually is and I for some reason just love characters like that.

1.) Indeed.

2.) Yes, though the question now is who? Was it himself or someone else?

3.) It's not that insane of a guess.

4.) When they were in middle school, maybe. Grim kind of got the last laugh on Boogie the last time they faced off.

5.) I think it was Gir who said that but I could be wrong.

6.) Well, it'd definitely have to be about that time, given Junior is around the same age as Mimi and HIM destroyed Megaville after her tenth birthday I believe it was.

7.) Can't give too much away right now, but you're right about the God of Magic becoming a sociopath because of the toll the years have taken on him.

8.) Most likely.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

"…-Und so, as you can zee here, vith a little bit of your, how you say, demonic assistance, Berlin can fall right back down into ze fires it barely escaped last time." The portly, giggling Major explained as he tapped his pointer stick on the portable chalkboard. "Zey certainly wouldn't be expecting a repeat attack after all zeze years."

"Uh huh." HIM said again for what felt like the millionth time, his claw pressing against his cheek to keep his nearly drooling with boredom head propped up above his desk.

"But of course we will need to recover the new version of the Cosmic Cube from what remains of S.H.I.E.L.D." The more gruff Red Skull added from the other end of the board, his black trench coat contrasting perfectly with the Major's wide white suit. "Its power will practically guarantee our victory."

"Uh huh."

"Yes, yes, he already knows about ze Cube. But it is not essential to starting ze war so it can wait." The Major remarked to his partner. "Herr HIM's demons und ze new und improved ghouls will certainly be enough to sustain ze fires of war."

"Uh huh."

"The only reason to bother starting a war is to be the winner of it." Red Skull bluntly reminded the stout little man.

"Uh huh."

"Herr Skull, you must learn to appreciate where we are und what we can do in ze here und now." The Major playfully wagged his finger.

"What I appreciate is being on top of my enemy's forces and winning and that is where I wish to be while doing so!" Red Skull snapped at him.

" _I would give literally anything to get out of this meeting."_ HIM remarked in frustration to himself as he watched the two old men bicker with each other.

Almost like an answer to his prayers (ironic, given a being of his nature), HIM's speakerphone dinged. "What is it, Ms. Hecate?" He asked as he pressed down on the device's talk button.

"Uh, sorry to bother you, sir, but there's someone here who wishes to see you and he's being rather insistent about it." The demon's secretary answered from the other end of the line.

"If it's another German tell him I've filled my quota for the day." HIM told her. "…And probably the rest of my life, too." He added after making a quick glance back to the two Nazi leaders.

"Uh…no, sir. He's not that. He's…um…Grim Jr, sir…"

HIM gave a surprised blink at the speakerphone. _"Junior? Well…isn't that interesting?"_ He thought with some amusement.

Not being one to let his opportunity slip by him, HIM quickly stood up from his chair. "Well, gentlemen, so sorry to have to force you out like this but unfortunately something's just come up that I simply cannot skip out on." He spoke quickly, ignoring the protests of the two men as he hurried Red Skull and the Major towards the door.

"But vat about our invasion plans?" The Major asked.

"And our second chance to be brought back to the world of the living?" Red Skull seconded.

"I'll have my secretary reschedule something." HIM lied as he finally forced them out through his office door and into the main lobby, where Junior stood next to Ms. Hecate's desk, underneath a non-existent roof facing the open red lava and smoke filled sky.

"So how are the kids doing, Betty?" Junior was busy asking her at the time.

"Ah, Zeus went and had an affair with my oldest and Hera turned her into a tree in retaliation." Ms. Hecate told him as she casually filed her nails, her witchcraft writing up memos and sorting out paperwork behind her as she talked.

"Jeez. Someone needs to put a bell on that guy." Junior commented.

"Or a beartrap. Either works." Ms. Hecate said as she held her hand out to admire her work.

"You know what, even better, don't call us, we'll call you." HIM said to Red Skull and the Major as he finally deposited them by the elevators at the end of the lobby. He then quickly turned to Junior before the two could get another word in. "Junior! My dear boy! It's been far too long. Please, do come in." HIM said enthusiastically as he heartily took Junior by the shoulders and lead him into his office. "See you boys around!" He gave as one last call to the two befuddled Germans before HIM slammed the door shut behind him. The moment he did HIM practically slid down its frame in relief. "Auggghhhh…finally!"

"Trouble in damnation?" Junior asked casually as HIM walked back to his desk.

"Fucking Nazis, man." HIM groaned heavily as he flopped down into his chair, his claws rubbing his temples to relieve his headache. "They committed one war-fueled mass genocide and they haven't shut up about it since. We get it, you don't like the Jews or the Allies. Learn a new tune already."

HIM let out a sigh and took in a breath, letting himself calm down for a minute before speaking again. "Anyway, enough about that. Junior, tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" He asked friendlily as the river of lava bubbled behind him, the room being just as half-open and exposed as the rest of the buildings in the Land of Tainted Souls. "I don't recall posting any new bounties lately and I'm pretty good at keeping track of my stock."

Junior stood before the demon's desk. "What do you now about the recent attacks on my family?" He asked, straight to the point.

"Attacks? What attacks?" HIM asked.

"Don't play dumb with me, Kare." Junior warned him. "Everyone in the Underworld knows how much you and my mother hate each other. You both are always watching out for ways to screw each other over and there's no way you don't have as many spies and hidden surveillance as she does. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a camera hidden in her bedroom closet somehow."

"Private shower, actually." HIM smiled proudly.

"My point being…" Junior continued, trying to shake the shiny, wet image of Mandy's bare body out of his mind. "The moment anyone would try anything against my family you'd be one of the first to know about it. And if I know you, which I do, then you'd do your best to look into who attacked, to see if they're something you should worry about too or if they'll steal away the victory you've been waiting years to have over her."

HIM gave an impressed sneer. "I suppose you have a point there, Junior. So allow me to rephrase my question: assuming I do know certain details about these attacks, why should I tell you anything?"

"Because like I said, I know you and I know there are some offers a demon like you just can't resist." Junior explained evenly.

HIM scoffed in amusement. "You're not going to try and make _another_ deal with me, are you?" He asked in disbelief at such a thing.

"No, no. I've got another favorite of yours in mind." Junior said as he reached into his jacket, pulling out what HIM had first thought was a gun but soon realized it was, to his confusion, a simple deck of playing cards. "Let's play a game, Kare."

HIM stared at the cards in the Reaper's hand and then back up to him, a smile slowly creeping its way across his face. "Ooh, ya got me all misty." The demon lord laughed joyously.

* * *

Lord Pain picked his head up from the table with a long groan, not even remembering what he'd been doing until he saw the radio and microphone sitting in front of his face.

" _Yes…that's right…the master…she ordered me to send warning to young master Minimandy."_ He thought through his mind's haze as he took off his spiked helmet and rubbed his hand across his pounding forehead. _"I…did send the message, didn't I?"_ He asked, realizing he couldn't remember any such thing. In fact, for the life of him Lord Pain could not recall a single detail of what he'd been doing since leaving the infirmary.

" _I blacked out again. Just like before."_ He soon realized, much to his worry. _"Not knowing how I got back into the castle after the battle was bad enough, but this… …I must inform the master."_

"… _But, must I?"_ A voice said from the back of his head.

"What? Wh-…yes, of course I must. The master would want to know." Lord Pain said, unintentionally aloud, as he was surprised by the sudden thought.

" _She'd want to know if it were something I couldn't handle."_ The voice argued. _"I am the great Lord Pain, am I not? I can handle something as simple a few little blackouts, can't I?"_

"I…I suppose there is no harm in waiting to see if it is truly that big of a deal." Lord Pain remarked, feeling a tad dizzy for some reason. "No need to add any more unnecessary worry to the master's already full plate."

" _Especially not when it'd mean an increase in my own workload."_ The voice remarked. _"The master relies on me so much because she knows how much more skilled and capable I am than the rest in her empire, including herself. What more could she do that I already cannot?"_

"What…what more could she do that I already cannot?" Lord Pain spoke repeated the thought, the idea seeming so much better now that he said it out loud. He was right, what was there to worry about? He was Lord Pain. It was nothing he couldn't handle.

Smiling widely and strangely feeling much better about himself than before, Lord Pain was about to start putting the equipment away when he noticed a glint in his reflection on the microphone's shiny silver. His eyes, so normally very brown in color, now had an almost golden tint to them.

Taken slightly aback by this, Lord Pain leaned in to get a closer look but was startled by the sudden knock on the door. Quickly looking back to the microphone he saw that his eyes were now back to normal.

Lord Pain picked back up his helmet and put it on again, figuring it must have just been his mind playing tricks on him. "Come in."

The door opened and it was Manny in his human form who entered. "Hey, Charles. Do you…uh…do you have a minute?" He asked, noticeably hesitant and more withdrawn than usual.

"Perhaps just a minute, young master." Lord Pain answered him respectfully. "I am expecting to have many more tasks assigned by your mother. With a war on the raise there is doubtless much to do in preparation for the winning side."

"Oh. Well…that's okay. I can always come back another time." Manny said, sounding disappointed yet also almost a little relieved, which peaked Lord Pain's attention.

"No need, young master. Please, tell me what is on your mind."

Manny rubbed his arm awkwardly, like he didn't know where to start. "I just…I mean…the reason why I'm here…I was hoping you could give me some advice. C-combat advice, I mean! Not like-…not like lifestyle advice or…anything…"

"Combat advice?" Lord Pain questioned curiously.

"Yeah. It doesn't have to be anything major, just…I mean, back at the battle, I was getting pretty heavily slapped around by that Manotaur and you took care of him like he was nothing." Manny laughed but Lord Pain could tell that this levity in his master's ward's tone was being forced. "If there was anywhere I should start getting help to get better from, it'd be you, right?"

"I would not say the Manotaur was nothing, young master." He told him, trying to help Manny not feel so bad about what happened. "I merely have more experience dealing with beasts of Biceptor's type. It's a simple thing that you and young master Daniela will gain more of as you age and with it quickly surpass me. You must not feel ashamed of yourself for being overwhelmed by this one battle."

At the mention of his sister's name Manny's mood soured a bit. "…Easy for you to say." He mumbled off to the side. "You laid the smack down on the bull guy and were one of the only ones to not get possessed by a Sin. You don't have anything to feel bad about yourself for."

At the young master's mention of the Sins, the image of a small, red-haired child with freckles and a ponytail flashed through Pain's mind, causing him to feel slightly dizzy for a moment. "The Sins…I… Didn't I encounter one…?" He questioned himself, the memory seeming like it was blurring the more he tried to focus on it.

For a moment, it felt like it was about to snap back in place in his mind, when Pain's attention was thrust back into reality as drops of blood started soaking through the bandages around Manny's knuckles and hit the floor as Manny's fists were clenched far too tight.

"Young master, your injuries!" Lord Pain quickly bolted up to him, Manny now noticing that he'd caused his hand's wounds to open back up. Not that he seemed to care much. Even as Lord Pain tore off pieces from his own cape to wrap around the bleeding area, Manny still seemed just as angry and bitter as ever, though not at Pain.

"…I can still almost feel it." Manny spoke with a slight choke in his voice.

"Feel it?" Lord Pain asked.

"Daniela's face…" He answered. "I can…I can still almost feel it breaking against my fists. I can still feel her throat in my hand as I tried to strangle her. How…h-how red and swollen she looked when I was about to blow her head off…" Now it was not just red blood but a steady flow of hot tears that started to drip to the floor, of course causing Pain even greater concern. "I-…I almost killed my own sister!" Manny hiccupped before running into Lord Pain and, to the knight's great shock, hugging him for support.

"Young master…."

"I wasn't strong enough." Manny cried, keeping his face hidden from Pain so he couldn't see his shame. "I almost killed Daniela because I wasn't strong enough to fight off the Sin! Or beat Pandora before she freed them! Or…or…"

Manny's words were cut off as he found himself suddenly hugged back by Lord Pain.

"Ch-…Charles?" Manny asked in partial shock, not able to remember the last time he was hugged by…well, really anyone.

"My apologies for laying my hands on your person, young master." Lord Pain said evenly, keeping his only head tilted up so that he could spare Manny the shame of the knight further seeing his tearful face. "But I must also apologize for failing to notice and address your pain."

"…What are talking about, Charles? You didn't fail in anything." Manny muttered. "…I'm the one who messed up and is bawling like a baby…"

"I did indeed, young master." Lord Pain stated simply. "You are strong, but I've been at this for so long I forget how difficult it is at the starting point. I forget how harsh the sting of first failures can be." Manny gave a further look of shame at the floor and Lord Pain continued. "You are still young, young master. One day your power will be even greater but the road to that point will be filled with many mistakes and hardships, some worse than what you've recently experienced.

"But…" He continued as he tilted Manny's head back to look up at him. "Mistakes must always be looked at with context." He said with a warming smile. "Your sister is not dead, no matter how close you fear she may have gotten at your hand. Let the failures of your past be only that and grow forward from this point, just as you've already taken the first steps in doing by coming here in search for advice to overcome your faults." Lord Pain then backed up a little bit from Manny so that he could reach down and pull the cudgel up from his belt. "It was my own past failures that inspired me to take up this weapon." He said, holding it out by its hilt. "And eventually lead me in the service of the master, to where I stand high above the weaknesses of my past. Just as you will someday too, young master."

Manny stood blinking in awe as the knight still smiled at him. Using his sleeve Manny very ashamedly wiped his eyes dry, not saying a word.

Wanting to help him still save face, Lord Pain said "Young master, with the duties your mother will be assigning me, I would not be against a supervisor to assist me in my tasks. I'm certain that you may find prepping the castle's defenses to be far more engaging than your usual chores."

Manny look at the knight hesitantly but slowly a smile did start to break its way across his face. "Y-yeah…!" He said with cautious excitement, trying to get himself pumped up. "Yeah! Let's do it!"

Lord Pain smiled and gave a nod of his head, signaling for Manny to lead the way out of the room. Manny did so more cheerfully than when he'd first entered and as Lord Pain followed the teen to where the queen would likely be, for the moment at least, the knight's concerns over his previous thoughts were forgotten.

* * *

HIM's impish servants set out a small circular in the center of his office, with two tall wooden chairs on opposite sides of each other so that he and Junior could sit in a direct faceoff. As Junior casually shuffled the deck, HIM asked "So, what's the game, Junior? Old Maid? Crazy Eights? Strip-Poker? Because I gotta say, while I wouldn't kick you out of bed, you're not really my type, kiddo."

Ignoring the demon's attempt to creep him out, Junior simply smiled and said "No, no. This is a far more simple game than that." He set the deck down in the center of the table, the card backs being of a simple spiraling, symmetrical black and white pattern. "The game is: _Truth or Lie_."

"I like the sound of half of that." HIM chuckled, but was intrigued enough to let Junior go on.

"Here's how it works: on each player's turn they'll pick up one card from the deck and then the other player asks them a question. If the card picked up is black, that player has to give a truthful answer. If the card is red, then that player has to lie."

"Very subtle on the color choices there, Junior." HIM commented.

"Now, here's the catch." Junior added. "The player asking the question doesn't know what card the other's got, so once the question has been answered, they then have to guess whether the answer was the truth or a lie. If you guess correctly, you gain a point. If you guess wrong, you lose a point. Though for the sake of time the points can't go below zero, so we both have a handicap for our first guesses. Game ends when one player gets five points. Sound simple enough?"

Junior could see it in Kare's eyes. Even with the cocky, uncaring nature of his face, Junior could see the demon's inner mind going at a mile a minute, thinking over all the tricks and cheats that could be pulled off in a game of this nature. HIM had a great bit of power in his own right, but Junior knew he'd gotten to where he was today the same way his mother had. He was a strategist and probably more than any other demon of the Underworld, HIM was a gameplayer.

"Since we're both probably thinking it, I'll just come out and ask the obvious." HIM said after he finished thinking it all through. "Sure, the card gets revealed after the guess, but what's to stop me from simply lying and saying it's the truth when I have a black card? How would you even suspect that my words are false?"

Junior gave HIM a smirk and pulled up the top card on the deck. After taking a look at what it was, Junior looked up at HIM and said casually "I hate you and want to smash your face against this table." After a moment of nothing happening, Junior turned the card over and revealed it to be the black 3 of spades. After HIM gave an amused shrug and nod, Junior put that card to the side and drew another one. He took one look at it and said "I find you to be a very lovely person and do not want to violently introduce your face to the tabletop."

This time the back decorations of the card instantly faded away and became transparent, revealing the black queen of clubs.

"Teller cards…? I see." HIM said with a breath of impressed as he looked down closer at the now familiar deck. "A bit of an older version but I remember cheating with these things all the time back in the day. Heh. You think Malebolgia hates me now you should have seen how mad he was when he lost the clown to me for a hundred years."

"Any more questions, Kare?" Junior asked as he discarded the queen into the pile.

"Oh, plenty. But that's where the fun of this game comes in, I'm sure." HIM remarked coolly, Junior being one of the few people in this world he allowed to call him by his real name..

"In that case, please, I insist." Junior said as he gestured towards the deck. Seeing no reason to argue, HIM picked up the first card. Once he'd had a look at it, Junior asked "Do you know who's behind the recent attacks on my family?"

HIM took another look at his card and a small chortle of a laugh. "I know nothing. Not a damn thing." He answered.

Junior's smirk matched Kare's own. "Lie." He stated as his guess.

Smile on his face, HIM turned the card around and it was the 8 of diamonds. Junior's guess had been correct. "Bit of a simple question to start off with, isn't it?" He asked.

"Just wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting my time." Junior commented as he now drew a card as HIM discarded his own into the side pile.

Thinking over what question to put forward for a moment, HIM finally asked "Why come to me of all people for this information?"

"Because given everything that's been happening, you seemed like the person most likely to be in the know." Junior answered simply, not missing a beat.

HIM looked him over for a minute. "…Lie."

Junior smiled and flipped the card over, revealing the king of clubs. "No points for you." Junior could feel Kare's eyes studying him. What he said was technically the truth. Eris's hint and all the enemies so far being people who hated his mother lead him to the conclusion that Kare was the one to talk to. But knowing HIM and his talent for similar half-truths, Junior quickly covered himself by saying "To be honest, I'm suspecting you are part of whatever society is after my parents."

"Are you now?" HIM asked quizzically.

Junior shrugged. "Figured I'd throw that out there. Don't need to waste a question on it now. Speaking of which," Junior gestured back to the deck.

HIM, still picking apart Junior's words in his mind, drew another card.

"Who is behind the recent attacks on my family?" Junior asked, it being the natural next part to his previous question.

HIM looked over his card for a bit longer than before, before he finally decided on his answer. "I can't say."

"Can't or won't?" Junior asked pointedly.

"I believe you have to wait until your next turn to ask another question." HIM refused him with a teasing tone.

Not letting the demon get to him, Junior instead thought through the answer. "…..Truth." He finally settled on.

HIM was quiet for a minute before turning the card around and showing it to be the black 2 of spades. "Impressive guess." He complemented, though didn't seem unhappy about the result, no doubt using it to make a point to Junior about his own vague answer. "I'm curious why you believed I was telling the truth?"

"Is that your question?" Junior asked back. "If so, at least wait until I draw a card." This was where Junior knew he had to be cautious. He may not trust Eris but selling her out before he had a better handle on the situation was a bad move, especially since he didn't know how involved with each other she and HIM were.

Relenting to the Reaper's point, HIM discarded his card and waved to the deck for Junior to have his go. Once Junior drew his card, HIM repeated his question. "Why did you believe I was telling the truth?"

Junior acted like he was thinking through his answer but in truth he already had one ready, having expected this kind of question before he got here. "When the ragdoll version of your buddy Aku's old enemy Jack attacked us at his palace, Aku mentioned that the samurai had something called a Master's Brand on his tongue, something that's apparently meant to keep the bearer from revealing the brander's secrets. I figure if these people against my parents have that kind of power then there's a chance they used it on you." Again, this was something that was technically true, at least, the last sentence was. He only implied that the story about Jack had anything to do with his reasons for thinking about the Master's Brand. He never said it actually did.

"Aku was attacked by a ragdoll version of Jack?" HIM asked, his tone one of seemingly genuine surprise.

Junior blinked, taken off guard by this unexpected reaction. "You…you didn't know?"

The surprised features of the demon's face slowly morphed into a growling expression, though his anger was not directed at Junior. "No…I didn't." He commented, looking off to the side, his claw rubbing his chin as his brain pondered this new information.

Junior wasn't sure how to proceed from here. Kare was a guy who always liked to project the air that he was the one holding all the cards; that he was the one with all the advantages and the plan. For him to not only admit he didn't know something but to seem genuinely pissed that this information had been kept from him up until now…this was something Junior could not have expected.

"Lie."

"What?" Junior said, snapping back to reality.

"Lie." HIM repeated, just throwing the word so quickly out there it was like it was not actually a guess but just him trying to move the game forward again. Regardless, Junior turned the card and showed off the 4 of clubs, meaning HIM again received no points.

"I'm not that good of a storyteller." Junior remarked.

"Just making sure." HIM replied, some of his former composure coming back to him, though still clearly bugged by this revelation.

Hoping that perhaps this would give him some sort of opening, once HIM drew his card Junior asked "Are you unable to tell be because you have a Master's Brand on you?"

HIM gave him a look. "Yes." He said simply. "That's exactly it."

"…Lie."

HIM turned the card over. The 10 of hearts.

"So…you're scared then." Junior remarked as HIM casually discarded the card. "If you're not bound by anything and still can't tell me, then that means you're afraid of what'll happen to you if you do tell me what I want to know."

"Not scared, per se, Junior. Just that the cost of giving you the information you seek is higher than I'm willing to pay." HIM stated simply as he leaned back in his chair.

"And what cost would that be?" Junior asked.

"My life." HIM answered freely. "In case you haven't noticed I tend to put a lot of importance on myself."

Junior thought HIM's answer through. "The people after my family…I've only met and fought one of them personally. But from what I've heard of the others, tough as they may be, they don't sound like anything you'd consider an immediate threat to your life." Junior was careful in not to give out any specific names, on the off-chance HIM might casually mention someone minor his family was not yet aware of. "Which means there's someone else. Someone big enough to make even you think twice before crossing them. Someone strong enough to make you look weak."

At Junior's bold words, words which no one lesser would dare ever speak to him, HIM gave a chuckle. "You're not wrong." He admitted with a smile. "You weren't aborted yet back when all those classic good vs. evil battles were happening but let me tell you, despite what you may think, it's damn near impossible to get supervillains to work together. It's like herding cats, only all the cats have pocket knives and hate each other. I've tried it myself back in the old days and it always falls apart before the goal is reached. …Unless of course you have something, or someone, strong enough to hold it all together. Someone with a message everyone can get behind and the power to keep them all in line."

"Someone, I'm guessing, you can't tell me about." Junior remarked.

"Wellllllll…" HIM smirked, stretching his words. "I can't give an exact name or description. HE tends to have very good ears when it comes to that sort of thing and I don't feel like sticking my neck out for your mother, you understand. But just like how people will refer to me as HIM because they're too afraid of gaining my attention by using my real name, he does have this nifty little title that'll make things a little less annoyingly vague. The God of Magic."

"Quite the claim one makes with a name like that." Junior commented evenly.

"There ain't no Gods of humility, Junior." HIM chuckled. "Well, I suppose there's Aidos but most gods would rather be epic than forgotten about like her."

Junior leaned back in his chair and folded his arms in contemplation. "So, that's where all this starts from. Mom and dad…oh, who am I kidding, probably mom…went and pissed off some ancient god of magic."

"Junior, Junior, you disappoint me." HIM said as he shook his head kiddingly. "You're thinking far too old school. All that stuff about destiny and special breeds is a load of garbage. No one is born a god. It's a title and usually one given to themselves. After all, when you have enough power and influence, who's going to argue with you when you start calling yourself the divine?"

"Wait…" Junior cut in. "So you're saying this God of Magic is more of a new guy?"

"I believe it's my turn to be asking the questions, Junior." HIM teasingly reminded him, tapping the tip of his claw against the deck. A bit annoyed at being sucked in like that, Junior drew a card. Once he'd had a look at it, HIM asked "Do you want me to tell you more about him?"

Junior glared heavily at HIM. Now he was just being played with and while he'd been expecting something like this, it didn't mean he had to like it. "I doubt you have much more you could tell me." He answered bluntly.

"Now that's for certain a lie." HIM laughed heartily.

Junior flipped the card over. The 10 of spades.

"Oh, now that's just being hurtful, Junior." HIM said, though not a drop of joy having left his tone as he pretended to be insulted.

"But it's true though, isn't it?" Junior asked as he threw the card into the discard pile. "You've made it quite clear that _you_ can't tell me much more on this God of Magic. And since you've put so much emphasis on it, that must mean that you've already thought of a way around it."

HIM smirked at Junior's words and drew a card.

Junior looked him dead in the eye. "What do you have that can get me information on this guy? This…God of Magic?"

HIM looked down at his card and then his eyes slowly glanced over to his desk. Watching Kare's eyes carefully for a minute, Junior rose up from his chair and walked over to the desk's other side. On the desk's left-hand side, underneath the framed crayon-drawn picture of HIM cutting off his daughter's hands, Junior opened up a drawer and pulled out the item within. An old faded scroll, bound shut by a tied string.

"Go ahead. Open it up." HIM offered, staying seated where he was.

Junior looked over at HIM before going back to the scroll. After a minute of hesitation, his Reaper senses flaring wildly at whatever was inside but not in a way that indicated danger, Junior pulled the string loose and rolled open the old parchment.

The inside could not have been more different than its outside. Silky black and green colors filled the entire page, with the many distinguishing locations, doors, and even the map's compass floating and moving lazily across its length, almost like a computer's screen saver. Junior could practically feel the spectral energies leaping off the document at him and he needed barely a look at the name of any of the many marked islands to realize what it was he was looking at.

"This is…this is a map of the Ghost Zone." Junior said with stunned exclamation.

"An Infi-Map, to be precise." HIM said proudly. "You would not believe how hard the Far Frozen fought to keep their hands on that baby."

Junior couldn't stop staring at it. The fused lair/island fortress of Skulktech 9.9. Clockwork's citadel. Even the layouts of Warden Walker's prisons. Everything in the Ghost Zone was all here, and judging by the way everything was on the page was moving, this map was completely up to date on its information to the exact minute.

"I'll take you rifling through my belongings as proof that you believe I was telling the truth." HIM said, showing off his card to be the jack of spades before placing it in the discard pile. "Let me let you in on a little secret of mine, Junior. Disappointed as you may be to hear, I make a habit of annoying people other than just your mother and that includes the rest of the Big Five lords. Even Aku to an extent." He said with a modest chuckle. "Walker's the easiest. Whenever my own channels are a little backed up I like to smuggle my classic illegal and immoral contraband through the portals of the Ghost Zone. And it pisses him off to no end. Not just because he knows I'm doing it but because he can't find any proof of my lovable wrongdoing or even where my cargo is travelling through, thanks to that map."

"Sounds like a hoot." Junior said as he walked back over to the table, still unable to help but sneak glances at the map.

"Well, I'd love to have you along with me sometime but unfortunately that little avenue of mine has hit a bit of a snag." HIM said as he held out his claw for Junior to hand him the map. "On one of our runs my servants and I ventured a little too far into a certain someone's territory and he was most certainly not happy to see me."

"Who?" Junior asked as he handed off the Infi-Map.

With a swipe of his claw across the page the map's image started spinning to the side like a touch-screen tablet, before the tip of Kare's claw struck down on the page against the table, halting the image as the demon pointed at a dark red medieval looking castle, the tagline underneath labeling it as _Pariah's Keep_. "The Ghost King." HIM said.

"Pariah Dark?" Junior asked, having heard much of the legendary white stone-faced king of all spirits.

"Again, Junior, you're thinking too old school." HIM wagged his claw at the Reaper. "Our dear Mr. Dark has not sat upon his throne in quite some time. Even longer if you discount that brief bit of freedom he had years ago before he was locked back in that sarcophagus of his. No, there's a new king in the castle now, and if you want my personal opinion as someone who was chased out of the Ghost Zone by him, he's even stronger than Pariah was at his peak."

That was certainly something of a surprise for HIM to say, but of course there was still the obvious question that needed to be asked. "Alright, tough ghost is giving you problems. Got it. What does that have to do with the God of Magic?" Junior asked.

"Powerful people tend to attract powerful friends, Junior." HIM answered. "And the more powerful they are the harder that friendship can come crashing down. For a time before things went sour, there was no one closer to the God of Magic than the Ghost King, not even the one who made him a god in the first place."

A small hint towards Eris in the demon's words, matching up with what she told Junior herself, but Junior made sure to not relax his guard. "So you're saying that if I find this new Ghost King he'll be able to tell me all I need to know about the one running the show against my parents, all because they had a bad breakup?" He said skeptically.

"Without any brands or need for self-preservation holding him back." HIM nodded. "He might not be as powerful as our resident godling but there are few in this universe that HE would find more difficult to silence than him, even taking away their past history."

Junior looked back and forth between HIM and the map. "So, what do you want for it?" He asked, pointing at the paper.

"No charge. You can take it." HIM said simply.

"Bullshit."

"I'm serious. No strings attached, though I would appreciate you bringing it back when you're done, as I still have plenty of use I can get from the thing."

Junior gaze didn't falter from HIM's. "You understand why I don't believe you, right? No one gives anything freely in the Underworld. Least of all you."

"I'm not saying I get nothing out of you going to find the Ghost King. Just that what I gain doesn't come out of your pocket." HIM explained. "It's something that I like about you. Not only are you powerful but you're also quite a bit violent. You tend to always spark some kind of a fight everywhere you go." Junior wanted to grimace at HIM's words but couldn't exactly say he was wrong. "Now…if you should happen to find the Ghost King and a fight breaks out between the two of you for…well, let's just say the usual reasons... Should you end up killing him or at least pounding him into such a fine, crippled paste that he can't interfere with my business in the Ghost Zone anymore, I certainly won't be losing any sleep over that now, will I?"

Junior was quiet after HIM's speech as he looked back at the map. There was obviously more to this than Kare was saying. However, Junior knew that the demon wasn't sending him into this completely blind. Like Eris said, HIM loves to lie but Junior knew him well enough that Kare knew how to _properly_ lie. Nobody would ever listen to HIM if he lied out of habit and so he chooses his lies carefully. Kare actually tells the truth quite often. He just knows what parts of it to tell and what parts to hold back, which is no doubt what he was doing now.

Junior rolled the Infi-Map back up and retied the string around it. "My thanks, Kare." Junior nodded as he slipped the map into his jacket.

"My pleasure. Least, it will be." HIM said with a smug nod of his head. But when he noticed Junior about to walk away, he said "I believe we still have a game going on, do we not?"

Junior did his best to hide his smile. "Oh! Yes, of course. My apologies." He said humbly as he sat back down in his chair. Of course there was far more information he wanted to get out of HIM. They both knew it, so Junior having been about to just leave was more than a little odd and would raise some questions for Kare, which would mean less potent things he might be asking Junior.

Junior drew his card from the deck. It was a small possibility, as Kare wasn't as easy a sucker as those Junior would play against in a bar. But doubts could go a long way, and against an enemy like the man in front of him, any advantage could only help.

Junior looked at his card, feeling confident in his ability answer whatever questions HIM might ask without giving too much about Eris away.

"How's Minnie doing, Junior?" HIM asked innocently.

The card felt like it could burst into flames right there in Junior's grasp.

"She's fine." He stated strongly as he glared angrily across the table. He hadn't been expecting this question and he really should have.

"Are you sure?" HIM asked with a questioning tilt of his head and a smile. "There is a difference between what is true and what you hope is true, after all."

"Truth or lie, Kare." Junior demanded impatiently.

HIM took his time before answering, savoring the moment. "I'll go with…truth."

Junior looked back at his card and, very reluctantly, turned it over. The ace of hearts.

"Oh dear, it appears I'm not very good at this game, am I?" HIM laughed happily, completely unfazed by his lack of points. "Still…I suppose there are worse things to be bad at. Am I right, Junior?"

"I don't know how she's doing." Junior explained harshly as he bitterly tossed the card away into the pile. "I haven't seen her in a while. That's why it was a lie. Nothing more."

"Well, I suppose that makes sense." HIM shrugged casually. "After all, after the a…ahem… _accident_ …I can't really blame her for wanting a break from you. …That is, if it was indeed her idea, of course."

"Draw your card, Kare." Junior ordered him flatly, not letting the demon get to him.

HIM picked up the card from the top of the deck but continued to talk on. "Guess that answers that question. Can't blame you for wanting her to go away for a while. Even when I first officially met you two she was hanging onto ya like a puppy in heat. Honestly I can only imagine how bad her puberty would have been for you if she still had her old body."

"What more do you know about the Ghost King and the God of Magic?" Junior asked very heatedly, trying to not let Kare's words get to him, though his breaths were getting harder in his efforts.

Ignoring Junior's question, HIM continued speaking his thoughts. "All I can say is it's a good thing my daughter still owes you. Chi would probably offer herself in her place when you'd come knocking but either way you'd have someone less desperate than her. A little less ragged and worn, too, I imagine."

"What more do you know about the Ghost King and the God of Magic?" Junior repeated the question, his nail practically digging into the table with how hard his fingers were pressing into its top.

"I mean honestly! You'd think after a while she'd learn, right?"

"Answer the question, Kare!"

"I don't think anyone knows the cost of an arm and leg more than she does at this point. Am I right, Junior? The way she's going about her life you'd almost think she's addicted to getting stitched back together. That, or she's into a whole new level of masochism with you."

The round table was sent flying across the room, followed closely by the sound of shattering wood and wildly scattering cards as Junior now held HIM by his throat up against the far wall, attempting to strangle him as his own face twisted in rage.

Out of reflex HIM's claws grabbed onto Junior's arm, though failed to get himself free as the Reaper's Nergal flesh only added to his strength. But even as the hand around his throat cut off his air, HIM looked down at Junior and smiled with an evil, toothy grin.

"Ohh, that's the look I like to see." HIM said, his voice a bit pained but happy nonetheless as he looked into Junior's burning red eyes. "And it's grown! My word, what have you been feeding that stuff, Junior?!" When he felt Junior's grip grow tighter, HIM winced only slightly before smiling wider. "Are you gonna do it this time?" He asked daringly. "Or just back off again at the last minute because you're too afraid?"

"We both know killing you wouldn't be enough to unleash the Red, Kare." Junior growled through his teeth.

"No? Well then, by all means…" HIM offered, completely unafraid. "Fancy a little gamble there, sport?"

Junior could feel the pumps of blood in the veins of Kare's neck. It'd be so easy. Like breaking a toothpick.

After nearly a full minute, Junior's hand wobbled and let the demon go, causing HIM to fall to the floor on his ass. Junior backed away a few steps, forcing himself to breathe until the red embers of his eyes faded away.

HIM rubbed his sore throat and gave an honest sigh of disappointment. "You know, Junior, I didn't give you the Devil's Essence so you could just let it go to waste."

"You didn't _give_ me anything, Kare." Junior shot back at him, getting his temper back under control. "We made a deal and I've been keeping my end of it, so what I choose to do with it from there is my business."

"Which I wouldn't be having a problem with if you were actually doing anything with it." HIM remarked as he stood back up. "Given how much of an effect it's having you clearly want to give in, so why don't you already?"

"I don't want it anything to do with it." Junior stated.

"Right!" HIM laughed loudly with clear disbelief. "That's why you totally didn't go out of your way to steal that Spirit of Vengeance-shaped crutch to keep the essence at bay. Because you're will is just sooooo strong. Honestly, I'd be insulted you thought Mephisto's failed arts and crafts project was enough to overrule my Red's power if you hadn't put on such a delightful show against Pandora's box monsters."

"So you have been keeping an eye on the situation." Junior remarked at HIM's comment.

"But of course." HIM said with a dramatic bow. "You and your mother are my favorite hobbies these days. I'm naturally going to keep watch to make sure that no one else is going to mess it all up."

"Unless, of course, you're a part of what's going on." Junior pointed out, much to HIM's interest. "The God of Magic himself paid you a visit, didn't he?"

"…Bright boy." HIM smirked as he scratched his chin. "Suppose it was a bit obvious, wasn't it? He's going around recruiting all your mother's old headaches. Couldn't exactly pass me over, now could he? Also knew better than to send an underling, as I won't waste by time with anyone other than the man in charge."

"And given that you're still alive, I'm guessing his sales pitch worked on you?" Junior questioned forwardly.

"You and I had quite the confrontation a while back and I'm still alive, aren't I?" HIM pointed out gloatingly. "You of all people know that I know how to talk my way in and out of a situation. The God of Magic's power may be near limitless but he was still human at one time and therein lies the flaws I know very well."

Junior watched the demon very carefully. "So you're not in club but you're still aware of it? I find that hard to believe."

"The truth often is." HIM shrugged.

"What I find even harder to believe is that you had no knowledge or involvement in the ragdoll samurai's attack on Chi and her father." Junior added, his accusation quite blunt. "Working though this shadow organization would be quite the convenient loophole for you, wouldn't it?"

HIM gave a small pause at Junior's words. "…I suppose I see the logic of your thinking. And that's most certainly something I'm going to need to look into later. But…look at this using my logic, Junior..." HIM said as he leaned in a bit closer to Junior, so that he was now only a few inches from his glaring face. "Do you really think I'd risk breaking my word to you just to stick it to my little disappointment of a daughter and whatever sort of hybrid creature is going to come popping out of her within the next month or so?" He asked pointedly, letting the words sink in to Junior as he leaned back again. "No…no, as you pointed out very clearly to me back then, I've done all the damage I can there. Besides, I'm having far more fun raising you than I ever did her."

"You have not raised me." Junior said, immediately shooting down the very suggestion.

"You're being hurtful again, Junior." HIM shook his claw playfully at the Reaper. "Other than your sister, can you name one person who's had more of an impact on your life than I have? Who's had more to do with making you the man you are today? When you came kicking down my door on that fateful day, do you really deny that the strength you gathered since leaving home wasn't fueled by the thought of taking me down?"

Junior stood in complete silence. His glare at the demon still filled with anger but refusing to say anything.

"No…you can't, can you?" HIM said softly before giving another of his many chuckles.

Biting his tongue to keep his rage held back, Junior turned towards the door. "Thanks for the map, Kare." He muttered quickly before he started walking.

With a smile still on his face, HIM watched him go, Junior getting as far as to the door before, "Junior." He called after him.

Junior's hand paused before it reached the door handle. It hovered there in the air for the longest time. He knew he should just keep walking…

Over his shoulder, Junior looked back.

"I only push your buttons because I care, Junior." HIM remarked to him, that ghoulish grin still on his face as he still stood where he was across the office from where the unmoving Reaper had left him. "It might have been done because of a deal, but the Devil's Essence is still my gift to you. Mimi didn't appreciate it. She has too much of her mother in her, but you? Well…there are certainly sprinkles of both your parents here and there, but for the most part…you remind me a little of myself, to be honest."

"I don't see it." Junior said simply, though with a very flat tone.

"Oh, you will. Just give it time." HIM replied, much more knowingly. "For now, there's not much I can tell you that you'd want to know. But…I can tell you this," HIM bent over and picked one of the many scattered cards on the floor, holding its back up to Junior. "There's a beast inside you just waiting to get out. All my Devil's Essence has done is make you see it too. And I greatly am looking forward to the day you stop holding it back. Because that will be the day you finally realize one simple truth: of all the people in your life, I'm the only one you can really count on. You know I'm a bastard. I've always been very forward about that fact. How about the rest of them?"

Not a single word more was spoken, the only thing hanging between the two men being the deafening silence and the single card in HIM's claw. Staring at the card's back spiraling pattern for far too long, Junior finally forced his hand to go to the door's handle and open the way up, leaving the room behind him with haste.

HIM's smile couldn't help but get a little bigger as he casually tossed the card off to the side. The paper fluttered about in the air randomly before it finally landed face-up, revealing the ace of spades as the demon walked back to his desk, cackling to himself.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Took a little bit of time away from this story to write some stuff for my other stories just to recharge myself on this. I figure that as long as I'm writing something every week or every other week it'll be fine to take an occasional break from one story or another.

Well, I couldn't be vague about it forever, especially not with so many other things I need to be vague about. As some have already guess, Junior's occasional red eyes and sudden temper flares have been due to his body now housing the Devil's Essence, which he acquired from Mimi through a deal with HIM. The exact details of the deal are to be revealed later but you can probably make some accurate guesses as to what went down.

Now you might be saying, "Well, this explains Junior's lust for Mandy. It was caused by the Devil's Essence." To which I say that is not the case, because HIM said that Junior made the deal with him after he left home and Junior left home at the age of sixteen _because_ of his lust for Mandy. It's been there for a while but as you can probably guess, the Red certainly isn't helping Junior's situation any.

By the way, the reasoning behind the scene between HIM, Red Skull, and the Major from Hellsing Ultimate is because I thought Kare saying the line "Fucking Nazis" was funny. That is literally the only reason I went through the trouble of putting them in the story.

* * *

 **QTP:** Did HIM really not know about the ragdoll Jack's attack on Chi and Aku? Why does the Sin of Pride keep causing Lord Pain to black out? Did Minnie get Lord Pain's warning message? Will Lord Pain be able to help Manny overcome his faults and his own doubts in himself? What did HIM mean by saying he's raising Junior? What trials await Junior within the lair of the new Ghost King? And does HIM know about Junior's true connection to the God of Magic?


	15. Where Allegiances Divide

**Part 15: Where Allegiances Divide**

 **Coldblue:** I have to say, I do love these comments on each of the characters in this chapter. It's just nice to see how the audience views the characters I've been writing for and either how well it's going or how I should try and tweak their character a bit to get them on track. And like you I also kind of favor a Junior/Minimandy pairing despite the obvious big problem with them being in a relationship (incest). If I had to guess why it's probably because, with the exception of Grim and Mandy's marriage, Junior and Minnie's relationship in the comic is the one that's had the most focus and development. Junior and Mimi have had very little time to actually bond outside of a few scenes and the most we've seen with Chi and Mimi is a few short flashbacks and Chi just being obsessed with her. Junior and Minnie is something we've been following since the story's beginning so it is the most interesting pairing, even if it is a little iffy.

For your answers to the QTP's:

1.) He did know there was a chance, but HIM is still surprised by it because he knows the God of Magic's hatred has very little to do with Aku, which does lead him to question what he wants so badly that he'd resurrect Aku's old enemy just to kill him.

2.) "Pain having Pride in himself is likely Lord Pain greatest weakness." That actually sums the whole thing up rather well.

3.) Without giving too much away, Minnie is certainly her mother's daughter when it comes to intelligence and preparedness.

4.) Pretty much right on all levels, and with a good point on Junior never asking anyone for help, even when Clockwork pointed out that he should.

5.) Great theory. However, I will say that while you are right about HIM knowing he won't be around forever, he has no plans of going away anytime soon. If he dies, he dies, and thus why he wasn't afraid of Junior killing him, but as long as he's around he's going to continue with what he does best.

6.) I do have an idea for a Walker appearance in this arc of the story.

7.) Don't worry about HIM being all knowing, as there are plenty of parts of the God's plan that HIM doesn't know about. However in the comic I believe HIM has admitted to watching both Junior and Minnie since they were born, and knowing what he's like, HIM would definitely try to find out who the father is.

Before I answer your questions, I will say that I do not expect you or any of my readers to review every chapter, if at all. Yes, I enjoy reading the reviews, but my main concern is that the story is good and that my readers are enjoying it. As long as they are, I'm happy, so don't feel bad or feel like you have to force yourself to make any reviews. You just do them when you feel like it.

Now, to answer your questions:

1.) I sort of answered this in the oneshot collection, but with your suggestions I am considering the idea a little more. I think another reason I haven't done a self-insert yet is because I'd be building the character from the ground up while in the stories I've written so far all the characters have mostly established histories and personalities and it's easier to write a story around those. Still, I will give more thought to creating original characters in the future. The only one I've made so far has been MJ from Empire of Death and I honestly think I could have done a much better job writing her than I did.

2.) For "Grim Tales: Complex" and "League Beyond Legends" specifically crossing over, that doesn't seem like a very likely thing to happen, except for maybe some time way off in the future where I've written enough Grim Tales stories to just have every version of Junior, Mimi, and the rest meet up with each other all at once. But if we're just talking about Grim Tales, PPGD, and maybe a little bit of Justice League eventually crossing over with each other, the answer there is more than likely a big yes. I think ever since I started the oneshot collection people have been asking for Junior and others to go back in time to when Megaville was at its prime to try and save it. I've recently gotten interesting suggestion for Junior to fall in love with or be fallen for by the Mandy and/or Blossom of this time period. Even taking time travel out of it, I got a pretty cool suggestion recently for a story where Grim never had the nerve to marry Mandy and now as President, Mandy introduces a law that basically divides up the superhero community because of which side of the law the heroes fall on, like Marvel's Civil War or the DC Injustice Games (only I'll try to do it in a way where people like Superman and Wonder Woman are not acting like completely irredeemable psychos with no remorse whatsoever). And in a world that has the PPG, the JLU, Danny Phantom, Jenny, Ben 10, El Tigre, and many, many more, that's a lot of heroes to be choosing sides. Point is, once I get a little further along with the big stories I do have currently, more Grim Tales and PPGD crossovers are certainly something I want to do in the future.

3.) Minnie is still a ragdoll. That isn't to say I haven't thought about ways to improve on the ragdoll design. Ragdoll Samurai Jack in this story is just one of the examples this story will have on how the villains are trying to push the idea of a ragdoll body further. But as for Minnie herself, I agree that she should be enhanced at some point, but it should still fit with her way of fighting and personality. A cyborg body like that of Cyborg from Teen Titans or the Cyborg Superman wouldn't fit because Minnie is a graceful and more skill-based fighter and even when she had her old Nergal powers she was not a tank. Plus, with her main weapons being rapiers and bow and arrows, Minnie seems to have a preference for older methods of fighting, while her mother and brother in the comic prefer much heavier artillery. I've honestly been imagining her as similar to Samurai Jack and Link from Legend of Zelda: able to take on things way out of her league with just her skills and a few handy tools. That said, alien technology and supernatural energy? Might have to give that some thought for future use. One idea I've actually pondered in the past was have the Devil's Essence act basically like the Venom symbiote from Spider-Man: have it give her an appearance matching her age while also increasing her strength and creating weapons for her, so long as she feeds it with her anger.

4.) Scotsman will be coming back later in the story, don't worry. Working with two other characters you probably wouldn't expect him to so he can avenge his defiled-after-death buddy. As for his daughters, I came up with the overall plot for this story before season 5 even came out and thus before I knew about all the Scotsman's daughters (whom, given how devoted he was to his wife in the past seasons, I'm assuming all had the same mother). So since I don't want to change everything just to fit them in, they are all back in the future time Scotsman, Jack, and Aku came back from. Junior getting busy with one of them is still something I'll likely use in a future story or at least a oneshot. They'd certainly fit with some of the ideas I've had for Junior, where in lemons I've imagined between him and Wonder Woman or Blossom, he comments that he has a preference for strong (or at least powerful) women because he's grown up around them all his life.

5.) Oh, Dan is DEFINITELY going to be involved in this Ghost King arc of the story. Pretty much the moment I decided the new Ghost King was involved with the God of Magic in the past, I knew I had to put Dan in this (and in regards to power, I'm hoping a certain fight I'll be writing in a few chapters will greatly satisfy fans of Dan Phantom). Funny enough on the comparison to Vegeta as that has been what I've been slightly basing Dan's character on. However, while he's certainly prideful, this chapter will hopefully show that Dan's pride runs in a similar yet a bit different way that Vegeta's does (at least pre-DB Super).

Thanks again for posting these reviews, especially the questions and suggestions. It was fun considering some of these new ideas.

 **Kelly Fiction:** If I hadn't thought of the Nazi thing it very could have been HIM exercising, as I don't think there are enough references to how HIM was back on the original show (thus why I still like to make a cross-dressing comment every now and then with him).

1.) He's definitely concerned over not knowing, though keep in mind that even Ikra told Junior that HIM knows what Aku is capable of and that is reason why he chooses to be allies with her rather than enemies. He might consider Aku more of a friend than other allies he has, but HIM is still a lord of the Underworld, just like Aku and Mandy, and is interested in his own power more than anything else.

2.) Good theory, actually.

3.) I actually really like the idea of Pain claiming to have single highhandedly taken care of a giant invading army of monsters. Certainly would fit with Pride's influence.

4.) Again, really good theory.

5.) Correct. He wanted Mimi because she was Blossom's daughter but that was also something of a double-edged sword, as after he's done hurting Blossom with her, Mimi still just has too much of her mother in her to be enough like him to HIM's liking.

6.) It's not Billy and I say that because I've already figured out what his place in all this is.

7.) Let's just say that when HIM told Junior in the comic that he'd been watching him all his life, HIM made sure to look into who Junior's father was.

 **DPSS:** You're very right it wouldn't have worked for anyone but Junior. Maybe Mandy but she's more likely to just shoot him in the head before she'd even play with him to get what she wants.

1.) "He's also not the kind to mess with old, broken toys when he has better ones." That's actually a really interesting way of looking at HIM's character. I'm sure with people like Mimi he enjoys breaking them down as far as they'll go but given he's ruler of the Land of Tainted Souls, he presumably has a lot of doomed mortal souls to mess with that he rarely bothers with anymore because superheroes and other rulers are so much for fun and rewarding.

2.) Most likely.

3.) Great point on this one and you are right, there are plans for Minnie regarding Boogie.

4.) Who's to say that Manny has to stay an enemy?

5.) This is the first time I've even seen HIM and Dan compared to each other and you know what, it actually does kind of make sense. It actually kind of amazes me now that HIM and Dan have never actually met each other in the comic or in any of the stories I've read or written. Least, as far as I can remember.

6.) Good guess.

7.) Great point on if Nergal Sr knows then HIM definitely should.

 **nightmaster000:** 1.) Correct.

2.) Correct.

3.) Not the message Mandy told him to send, no.

4.) True.

5.) Fair enough.

6.) I imagine most will like the King's identity. And fair point on the king perhaps being a woman, though since the new Ghost King is not an OC, that would leave only a handful of ghost women and out of them, I can only see Pandora's ghost and maybe Desiree having both the power and mindset to be a realm ruler. Spectra and Ember are not weak villains by any means but I just can't see them in charge of the entire Zone, even secretly.

7.) True.

 **Yinyang2017:** Thank you. Who the Megaville traitor was is something I'll thought about before, though not as much as who Junior's father could be. I'll definitely need to give it some thought if I ever make a story out of it (or include it as a plot point in another story). I'll definitely give your suggestion consideration.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

A scythe portal ripped open from nowhere in the air and the Grim Reaper stepped out onto the soft shining clouds underneath a calm blue sky.

"Mornin', Pete." Grim greeted the guardian of Heaven's gates as he approached the polished mahogany podium.

"Morning, Grim." St. Peter welcomed him back as his angelic wings stretched themselves lazily behind his back. "I was told about your call ahead. You may pass." The pearly white gates opened triumphantly before the Reaper, though seemingly out into more of the same white clouds and empty sky. "Here on official business?"

"Unfortunately, dere ain't nothin' in me old guidebooks about what I'm here for." Grim remarked passively as he passed through the gates.

Same as with every other time he'd come to this realm before, it was a blinding white light at enveloped Grim halfway between his footstep, and when that light finally faded, the Reaper stepped down, not on clouds, but on soft green grass. The gates were no longer behind him as everything in sight was now an endless green field, filled with scattered trees and the politely conversing souls of the local residents.

It was something Grim couldn't help but comment on in a job like his. So many mortals on Earth throughout history spending their entire lives fighting to convince themselves and others that their idea of Heaven was the real one, and in the end, none of it mattered. It was the nature of Heaven to take the form of whatever was most rewarding and pleasant to the soul entering it. All the souls talking, flying, and laughing around him? They were all likely seeing very different things from each other. Most were aware of this fact too but didn't likely care, as it was not like that made what they saw any less real to them. Especially not when most everyone had their own private Heavens waiting for them elsewhere in the realm anyway.

Still, Grim couldn't help but wonder what it meant for him to see a place like this simple pleasant green field every time he was here. Whatever it was, it gave the Reaper enough pause to the point he'd never even told his wife about it and likely never would.

Checking the stone sundial watch on his wrist, Grim waited patiently for a few minutes before he heard the flaps of large wings above his head.

"GRIM!" Cried the excited girl's voice she slammed into the Reaper's chest, hugging tightly after knocking the wind out of him (at least, she would have if Grim actually had lungs).

"Oof! Still a little rough dere, but it's good ta see ya too, Dee Dee." Grim smiled, patting the angel on her back warmly.

Dee Dee finally let him go and stood back to give him some room, her wings folding themselves up behind her with her long blond hair streaming down between them. "I was so surprised to get your call! How have you been?" She asked him friendlily. It was always something that Grim found a bit funny, how much he liked the girl even though, aside from her own death, the only times the two ever met with each other was when she was pleading with him to not let someone on his list die; something that went against his very nature. Perhaps, he thought, it was simply due to how much of an exact contrast the angel was to everything else in Grim's life that he couldn't help but grow fond of her over the years. Even up here in Heaven her personality was the most vibrant thing among all these endless rolling fields.

"Eh. Unfortunately, I've had times dat are much better dan what I've had lately." Grim admitted to her.

"Oh no. Why? What happened?" Dee Dee asked with concern.

Grim looked to their sides, keeping a watchful eye out for any of the other angels around them that might get too close. "…Take a walk wit me, Dee Dee." He gestured for her to follow him with his boney hand. Finding the Reaper's actions odd but still trusting him enough to listen, Dee Dee moved along the fields with him.

The skeleton and the angel walked underneath the shade of the trees, the pristine green leaves hiding most of them from the high-order seraph angels flying through their lord's skies above. More than once Grim hushed his words when they came close to random souls like that of Elvis and Bunny "Mama" Bravo and even came to a dead halt at one point as he waited for the archangel Michael to pass by. Dee Dee had no idea what Grim was being so paranoid about, until he started to tell her about everything that'd happened to his family recently, and in particular, something his son had informed him about.

"Samurai Jack's soul is in the Underworld?!" Dee Dee exclaimed in a hushed whisper, following Grim's lead. "Inside a ragdoll body?"

"He was, anyway." Grim nodded. "Junior didn't tell me what happened after he slayed him, but fer now I'm assumin' he's still out dere somewhere as a lost soul or perhaps hauntin' his now destroyed body. I've got someone lookin' inta dat. De important thing, thankfully, is dat it doesn't seem like whoever made him a ragdoll was able to get him back. Not wit de Scotsman takin' him away, anyway."

Dee Dee bit down on her fingertips nervously. "This is…this is really not good…"

"Yer tellin' me." Grim remarked.

Dee Dee was hesitant to answer him back, which did not go unnoticed by Grim. "…And you're sure it was really Jack?" She asked.

"My boy and I may have grown a bit apart over de years but I still trust him enough ta recognize a real soul when he sees one." Grim responded confidently. "Plus it wasn't just him who saw Jack. Aku, de Scotsman, and yer step-niece were all dere when Jack snapped out of whatever control he was under, and I can't think of anyone who'd know de real him better dan dem."

Dee Dee's body language became very worried and tense at Grim's point, the girl turning her head and looking around the trees as if to see if anyone was watching them.

"…You already knew the samurai was gone from Heaven…" Grim realized through her actions.

Dee Dee gave him a very guilty look. "…It's not something I'm supposed to talk about." She admitted to him unhappily.

At that, Grim pulled Dee Dee off more to the side and got in closer to her, taking care not to push her too hard with his insistence. "Look, Dee Dee, I know I ain't well-liked by some up here dese days, but I called you up because I know I can trust ya ta be straight wit me." He said, with great importance in his hushed tone. "I brought Jack up here myself after his death in Megaville. Yer god and his own gods were very insistent dat he get to pass on right through dem gates back dere after all he's done fer de world. Heaven ain't exactly known fer just lettin' souls go which means dere ain't no reason why he shouldn't still be up here. Mandy's sure dat dere are more enemies in dis dat we haven't seen yet and wit Jack's soul in dis mess, Heaven is one of de top realms she's suspectin' of aidin' Boogie and his other crones, just ta get rid of her. Now, I don't believe dat's de case but she won't let go of dat thought until we know more about what's going on. Please, Dee Dee," He begged. "I need ya ta tell me what ya know."

Grim could see the sweat on her brow. She was scared. Of what exactly he couldn't say but from the look of her it wasn't fear for herself that was holding her back.

Thankfully though it seemed her courage won out and Dee Dee took in a gulp of air before talking. "…You said that one of these people trying to hurt your family is another Grim Reaper?" She asked. "The Grim Reaper of Mars?"

"Yes, dat's right." Grim nodded. "But even wit Boogie and Eris backin' him up I don't see how Morg could have stolen Jack's soul from up here. At least not without makin' a big loud scene of it."

"Good thing the higher-ups think the same thing or else they would have dragged you up here once they noticed the souls that were missing." Dee Dee said to him.

"So dey think I'm involved in it-…wait…souls?" Grim caught those last few words. "Jack ain't de only one?"

Dee Dee shook her head sadly. "I don't know how many exactly. This is something only the seraphs and a few others of Heaven's kingdom are being allowed to investigate. From what little I have heard it's thankfully not too many. Mostly a small mixture of kids and adults who've been taken. I and the rest of Heaven only knew for certain that Jack was one of them because he was one of the few heroes from Megaville's fall that did not need to spend years in his own private Heaven to recover from what HIM did to him. He was able to be up and about with the rest of us until one day he just vanished."

Grim rubbed his bare bone jaw as he pondered heavily this new information. "Dis is quite concerning." He remarked darkly. "De samurai is greatly skilled but dere was still at least only one of him. If dere are more of dese new ragdoll types… But…why children? Dey'd still need childish bodies to house dem so why waste the material on dem if dey wouldn't be much in a fight?"

"I don't know, Grim." Dee Dee admitted, the tone in her voice now sounding like she was getting to her most earnest confession towards him. "But that's not all of it. When I heard there were souls missing, I looked into one of the private Heavens and one of the missing souls is-"

" _ **Say no more, guardian Dee Dee."**_

Upon being startled by the sudden long, dry voice that spoke above them, Heaven seemed to melt away from around Grim and Dee Dee. The blue sky was replaced by the endless starry universe and the grassy field upon which they stood became a gigantic green glove and cape worn by the so infinitely large chalky white figure that the two could not even see the end of his legs below them. Dee Dee nearly fell right over as she found herself and the Reaper under the figure's overwhelming glowing gaze as he stared at them both from under the shadow of his emerald hood. Grim however confidently stood his ground, having grown long familiar with this very being in their many billions of years together on Earth.

"Spectre." Grim greeted as he stared up into the eyes of the literal Wrath of God.

" _ **Grim Reaper."**_ The Spectre responded back, far more soulless in tone. _**"You are well aware your presence is not welcome this far into Heaven's kingdom anymore."**_

"Must have missed de official memo." Grim stated back defiantly as he still stood upon the giant's open hand.

Dee Dee, hoping to defuse the situation before it could get too far, attempted to plead with him. "Please, great Heavenly Spirit of Vengeance, Grim can help us." She said, her wings lifting her up in an attempt to be more on eye level with him, the little good it'd do.

" _ **He most certainly has the ability to help in our cause. But in the end, his presence will only serve to make matter worse in a different way."**_ Spectre stated.

"Care ta explain what ya mean by dat?" Grim asked, puffing his chest in indignation.

Spectre stared down at Grim. _**"You are Death, Grim Reaper. You are part of a natural order that even my powers and authority cannot supersede."**_ He replied evenly. _**"But Death is to be impartial to all. For a time, you were. But in these recent years you find your judgement swayed. By those you call your children, and most especially by the one you call your wife."**_

"Yeah. My wedding day didn't exactly earn me any friends up here." Grim remarked offhandedly, though still not backing down.

" _ **You wear too much of Mandy's influence on your soul."**_ Spectre stated outright to him. _**"The threats we face are indeed dire. But can you, Grim Reaper, truthfully tell me that your wife would be of any less of a deliberate threat towards all that exists should she learn the same methods and magics as those who conspire against you and us?"**_

This time, Grim said nothing back.

" _ **Your silence says it all. As does your willingness to still be with her regardless."**_ Spectre went on. _**"The one known as Mandy has committed many terrible acts, some of which are horrors even you know not of. And as such, you will find no true allies behind Heaven's gates until the day comes where you release her life from your protections and allow her to be judged for all that she has done."**_

Grim looked up into the spirit's unblinking glowing eyes. "…Den I guess dis is where we've reached our impasse." He said simply.

"… _ **That is…unfortunate."**_ The Spectre admitted, in a rare moment of true regret and humanity. _**"There was once a time where you, I, and Clockwork were inseparable. A time when death, time, and vengeance played no favorites. I would have liked to have gone back to that. Why do you not wish to?"**_

Grim thought about his answer. "I guess because he and I realized there were things in dis world more important dan just our jobs." He said back. "You once felt de same way too, back when de heroes were still around."

Spectre stood still in his stone-faced silence. Seeing as he wasn't going to get anything more out of him and his own point having already been made, Grim turned towards where Dee Dee hovered in the air. "Dee Dee. Why don't ya show me de way back to de gates? I always get turned around whenever he does dis spacey crap."

"Oh…uh…sure. Yeah, okay." Dee Dee said, looking back and forth between the two entities, quietly lamenting the fact that nothing more could be done.

As Dee Dee flew ahead of Grim, letting the light of her angelic aura guide him, just before Grim walked off, _**"Grim Reaper."**_ Spectre spoke, gaining his attention once more. _**"Before this ordeal reaches its end, it will be more than just the souls of your enemies who are crying out for vengeance on the one who has wronged them. When your wife's hidden deeds are exposed, will one of those souls be you, or will it be someone you care about even more than her?"**_

Grim gazed up questioningly at the Spectre's face, trying to wrap his mind around the being's cryptic warning. For a second, Grim almost asked him what he meant by all that. But, remembering who he was dealing with here, and the possible cost needed to regain the Wrath of God's favor, Grim looked forward and kept walking; the Spectre's presence fading off into the cosmic background as Grim followed Dee Dee's light.

It was a shorter walk than Grim would have expected and he soon found himself standing back on the clouds outside of Heaven's gates.

Dee Dee, if even possible, looked more guilty than she did before. "I'm sorry about all that, Grim." She apologized remorsefully, her head hanging low.

"It ain't yer fault dere, girl." Grim assured her. "De Spectre's always been one of de more stubborn entities I've known in my time. Anyways," He said, looking at his sundial watch. "I'd best go tell Mandy what little I've learned. She'll probably still have her suspicions about dis realm but given how well she understands de need for secrecy after a break-in and challenge to the ruler's power, she won't be focusin' so much on ya anymore."

Grim moved his scythe up into the air so that he could slash open a portal home but found himself quickly halted. "Grim, wait!" Dee Dee said earnestly as she quickly grabbed him by the sleeve to regain his attention. Once she had it, Dee Dee looked around hesitantly, making sure they were out of earshot of St. Peter, before she said "Grim…if you find out anything more about the missing souls…where they are or what's happening to them…please, let me know."

Grim looked at her and could see the clear worry that etched its way across the girl's face. In fact, now that they were under the direct sun and out of the shade of trees, Grim noticed the few strands of prematurely grey hair that were mixed in with blonde lengths. "Dee Dee, what's going on?" Grim asked her, his tone full of clear concern.

Dee Dee looked up at Grim, her eyes looking like they were about to start tearing up. "Grim…one of the souls that's missing…it's my brother's."

* * *

… ** _The Last Resort_ bar…**

"Alright, so what the hell is your- **urp** -shtick?" The balding scientist known as Rick Sanchez asked/belched the man standing across the table from him as he looked his name up on his clipboard.

"My name is Hit." The purple, very humanoid looking alien stated coolly. "I am a professional hitman with the power to momentarily freeze time."

"Yeaaaah, I don't think so, buddy." Rick shook his head disapprovingly. "We've already got enough confusion over how your Dragon Ball twelve universes or whatever number you've got going now fit with this universe's continuity. Don't need to add to that." Rick scratched Hit's name off the list. "Next! Hey! Hey you! Dreadlocks! You free? Up for some sick game?"

The very buff, armor and fishnet clad Yautja alien come up to the table as Hit walked away, hands hidden ever deeper in his pockets in his glumness. The Predator held his long spear at its side proudly as it stared at Rick from through the specialized eyeholes in its facemask. _"Want some candy?"_ The computerized, child-like voice uttered through the mask's speakers.

"Ooooh, tough break there, pal." Rick said, his tone trying to break it to the alien gently. "While I personally feel your movie is criminally underrated, people are just too hesitant to give anything but the original a chance. Sorry, but I'm gonna have to give you a pass." Rick scratched out the Yautja's name as well.

The Predator gave a threatening chattering noise to Rick in his species own natural language, but still turned and walked away with his head hung in sadness.

"Hey, come on, cheer up, buddy!" Rick called after him. "At least the higher ups of your movie didn't decide that freakin' Topher Grace would make for a better villain than the literal savage hunter-killer aliens! Guess it just worked out so well for Venom's image that they had to get some of that sweet- **urrrrp!** -least interesting character on _That '70s Show_ action too!"

"Rick, I-I-I still don't understand what we're doing here." Rick's grandson Morty stammered, sitting beside him and the table and having great trouble not stealing glances at the many three-breasted women littering the bar.

"I already told you, Morty. We're looking for a bounty hunter. Someone willing to take an odd job for the right-right amount of cash or job satisfaction, Morty." Rick responded before taking a big swig of alcohol from his personal flask, getting a dirty look from the bartender.

"Y-Yeah, I know that part, Rick. But-but you still haven't told me why you want a bounty hunter, or-or-or even who you'd be sending them after." Morty explained.

"Doesn't matter, Morty. We're only here in this universe for our designated cameo." Rick stated simply.

"Des-…designated cameo? What?"

"That's right, Morty. And unlike sombrero skeleton a few chapters back we're not about to just be killed off in five minutes." Rick belched out lazily before continuing what he was doing. "Alright, you in the gimp suit, what are you bringing to the party?"

"Well, I am the now world-famous Deadpool." The red and black fully covered assassin proclaimed proudly, hand to chest. "Merc with the mouth, ass for the cash. Currently having appeared as a main in over a dozen titles AND one of the few X-Men related characters Marvel didn't go out of their way to destroy and replace with an Inhuman."

"Huh…I don't know…" Rick pondered aloud, tapping his pencil against the table.

"Did I also mention I recently featured on the _Cell vs._ online miniseries, made by Team Four Star?" Deadpool remarked with a happily teasing voice. "#notsponsored #givemefreeshitanyway #bronyforlife."

"Ooh, I like it." Rick said, coming more around to the idea. "Got a nice little outside tie-in going for it. People love abridged series and Marvel is hot shit right now. I smell a- **urp** -con- **urp** -connection in the works."

"Oh, yeah. I remember watching that episode last month, back…back in June. It was-it was pretty funny, huh Rick?" Morty nodded.

"Ooh, you make a good point there, Morty." Rick said, getting a confused look from his grandson. "Tempting as it may be, we can't risk dating ourselves like that. Next thing you know we'll be talking about exploding hoverboards or fidget spinners or "Boy, that Bernie Sanders sure looks like a shoo-in, huh Morty?"."

"Jeez, Rick, that election was, like, almost a year ago at this point." Morty said.

"Yeah, I know, Morty. I was saying that to see if anyone in the future would actually bother to look at the dates and see if it all actually matched up. You know? Make-make the audience put in a little bit of their own effort and call me on my shit instead of just being sheep." Rick explained harshly. "Sorry, Poolio, but we just can't use you." He said as he pulled out his portal gun and blasted open a slimy green vortex right behind Deadpool, from which several pink tentacles reached out and grabbed hold of him.

"No! This is bullshit! This is hentai bullshit!" Deadpool screamed in protest as he struggled, unable to reach the twin swords on his back with the appendages wrapping around his arms. "No! I refuse to let this be my only part in this story! I refuse to let myself be treated as like an unfunny, corporately mandated, meming machine like-!"

After much effort, the tentacles finally dragged Deadpool in through the portal.

"- _Powerfuff Girls_ 2016!" Deadpool screamed as he fell in through, the portal closing shut behind him.

"Man, that's a shame. I feel like we really could have gotten more laughs out of him with more time." Rick shook his head. "Probably…probably- **urp!** -Probably shouldn't have put him in here if we weren't gonna take full advantage of his-his character. You know, Morty?"

"Ah jeez, Rick. I really…I really just don't get what's the point of all this." Morty told him.

"References, Morty. People fucking love references. It's what sells this shit, Morty!" Rick stared directly at Morty with a wild, insane look in his eye. "This is a fanfic universe of a fanfic universe of dozens of cartoons and comics from the 80's, 90's, and 2000's. That an entire cornucopia of references to make. I mean…I mean look over there, Morty!" Rick took hold of his grandson's head and forcefully turned it to the side. "There's the fucking original concept Terminator chatting it up with Bender and Dr. Zoidberg from _Futurama_! Like…like where else are you gonna see something like that?"

"Oh wow, Rick. That's-that's actually really kind of a neat meeting of ideas right there." Morty admitted, his head still held in place by the elderly man. "And-and hey, look. We…we've got Rumble McSkirmish from the Fight Fighters games arm wrestling with Jasper from-from the Homeworld Gems. Like that's-that's pretty cool, right Rick? That's…that's pretty cool."

"Now you're getting it, Morty." Rick said, letting go of his head and slapping Morty heartily on the back. "We gotta…gotta point out as many of references as we can. This isn't a webcomic so we can't rely on any vis-vis- **BELCH!** -visual storytelling, Morty, and the author of this world isn't good enough at scene descriptions to compensate, so we gotta take on that burden. Expand the possible lore of this universe, Morty. Open up the doors of possibility. Alright now, who's next?"

As more aliens and demons approached the table, Morty look back at Rick and said "Yeah, well, this is cool and all, Rick, but doesn't this all feel kind of out of place? I mean, this scene is being played more for laughs, which is good and all, but-but we might have just destroyed whatever tension or drama or whatever was built up earlier in the story before it cut to us, and-and-and we don't really have much to do with what's going on."

"It's fine, Morty. As long as we in some way connect to the main- **urp** -story or serve as a way to transition between scenes, nobody's going to care that much. Like, l-l-look here, Morty. I'll just…I'll just write down Grim Jr's name on my list of candidates right here and say that he's one of the ones we're considering." Rick said as he did so. "He's a bounty hunter, right? And boom, connection established. That fix everything up for you, Morty?"

"Ah jeez, I don't know, Rick. That just…that just seems like pretty lazy writing. Like it-like it really just wasn't thought out all the way and was only done as an excuse to let other stuff happen."

"Wouldn't be the first time in this world, Morty. Why do think the main character has that big Dragonslayer fuck-off sword even-even though the author barely remembers the little he's seen of _Berserk_? He just wanted him to have a big cool sword and that was the first one he thought of, so he just went with it and damn the consequences. It's called taking a risk, Morty."

"I feel like that's a bad comparison, Rick. I mean…I mean, sure, it's been a while but it's not like he went into this with nothing, right? I mean, there was that episode of _Death Battle_ that had Guts in it and-and-and that was a pretty good refresher course for his character's history, right? I mean, it's better than nothing."

"Oh, yeah. _Death Battle_. Great place to get your "facts" from, Morty. Tell-t-tell me again how much energy Android 18 can absorb again?"

"Oh, come on, Rick, you know that's not fair. They-they publicly apologized for that mistake and acknowledged it."

"Jeez, Morty. You'd think that as a teenager, and a rather unassuming one at that, that you'd be more aware of how internet nerd culture works. The people online are about as likely to forgive that slip-up as they are to forgive Superman for destroying Metropolis in _Man of Steel_."

"W-wait, I thought it was Zod who destroyed the city in that movie. You know, the villain."

"My point exactly, Morty. Now-now pipe down, will ya? We've still got a lot more people to get through before this list is over, so why don't you just-!"

Rick's words were cut off as, at the bar's entrance, the old style western double doors were shattered to pieces as the near fatally beaten body of another famous assassin, Deathstroke, was thrown through them, crashing into a few tables as his body skidded across the floor. Seconds later and Dan Phantom came walking in through the now wide open passageway.

"I only have one thing to say to everyone." Dan addressed the bar's many staring patrons. "Die."

Dan threw his head forward and let loose his roar of a Ghostly Wail, the ultrasonic attack easily blowing apart a good chunk of the bar. Thankfully, as most of those in attendance were skilled assassins and guns for hire, there were plenty who avoided their deaths and immediately went of the counterattack.

"Holy shit, Morty! Get down!" Rick yelled in panic, flipping their table over on its side to act as a barrier and pulling the completely freaking out Morty behind it as the patrons rushed the ghost, whom met them all head-on.

Dan didn't seem to care for his own safety as he jumped into the mob of enemies. More than once he found himself cut by Angela's blade or shot by Jonah Hex's bullets, which certainly hurt but not that anyone watching could have told you. He moved like a tank, constantly just taking whatever was sent his way while blasting and punching his way through the crowd. He easy avoided the swipe of the Predator's arm blade, grabbing and throwing to beast forward so that he stabbed the Scorcher through the chest before he personally blew a hole through the alien's mask and head. Hit managed to land a few fairly powerful blows on Dan's body, having paused time for half a second and attacking while he couldn't fight back. But once he tried the same tactic a second time, Hit's fists passed right through Dan's intangible form, and before he could get away, Dan's reached into Hit's body and violently tore out the assassin's heart.

"Oh Jesus, Rick!" Morty screamed as Hit's purple blood splashed against the tabletop they hid behind, Dan dropping the alien's heart to fire a Ghostly Wail at Hex and Boba Fett, whom had both been blasting him with their own respective firearms. "What…! What the hell is that guy's problem?!"

"He's a product of the classic "hero becomes an evil villain in the future" trope, Morty!" Rick yelled back over the continuous crashes and screams in the background. "I've seen it happen on a thousand worlds throughout the multiverse. There's nothing people find more intriguing than a fall to the dark side story! It's like Darth Vader, Morty! It's like Darth Vader, only his origin story didn't cut his credibility and character off by the balls!"

"OOOOOOH-WHOA!" Morty screamed, throwing his arms over his head as the yellow-furred body of Huntor was sent flying dead over their table with a bloody hole in his chest.

"I mean, yeah, I suppose he was alright in _Rogue One_ but I blame that partly on people giving more of their unavoidable attention to the Grand Moff's uncanny valley CGI face."

"What the heck are you even talking about right now, Rick?!"

"The uncanny valley, Morty! The closer something is to looking human without actually being a human itself! Human subconscious can't help but be freaked out by it! Their minds just can't handle something human that's not 100% live-action or clearly meant to be a cartoon. Why do you think nobody gives a shit about our animation looking like it was drawn on the budget of two bucks and a potato? We look cartoonish enough for the audience's mind to just accept what it's looking at!"

"Rick! Just get us out of here already!" Morty screamed in a mix of fear and anger as he tried to reach into his grandfather's lab coat and wrestle the portal gun away from him.

"Alight, alright! Chill, Morty!" Rick yelled back as he managed to push Morty away far enough to get his invention back and turn its dial to the proper alignment. "We're gone, bitches!" Rick exclaimed as he blasted the floor beneath them, cause both humans to fall through the slime green portal right before Dan's energy blasts burned through the table's protection in one burst.

Dan had a moment to breathe finally, dead and broken bodies of opponents and innocent alike staining the wooden floors all around him. But from behind he soon found a metal net falling over his entire body before a powerful surge of green voltage attempted to fry him. Falling to one knee from the unexpected pain, Dan winced heavily as he looked behind him, seeing the large flaming form of Skulktech 9.9 floating up to him.

"Told you it'd bring him down." Technus told his partner proudly from his face-port in their shared cybernetic chest.

"My apologies for ever doubting you." Skulker admitted to his fault as a long glowing green blade withdrew itself from their arm. Looking down at Dan with a smile on his face, he said "You seem familiar, but I'm fairly certain I would remember having met someone as powerful as you. Doesn't matter anyway. With the damage you've done to all these other hunters, you will indeed make a fine addition to our collect-!"

Fighting through the pain and the weight of the net, Dan grabbed Skulktech by the face and crashed all three of them through the wall holding the bulletin board housing all the bounty posters and out into the streets of the small town. Grimacing heavily as the green flames of the cyborg's body burned him, Dan's hand glowed and he started to pump his own energies into Skulktech's metal skull. His armor starting to bend out and puff up in a completely unnatural manner, it wasn't long before the fused body reached its stress limit and exploded, echoing throughout the area.

The blast having melted enough of it away, Dan slid the net off himself and tossed it away with the rest of Skulktech's few remaining scraps in the fire that now surrounded him. Looking down the street Dan could see the other shop owners and few other residents fearfully looking out their doors and windows, no doubt having grown concerned over all the noise.

Dan paid them little mind, as he doubted any of these other villagers would be able to put up more of a fight than those in the now very open bar. With nothing left for him here, Dan was about to fly off when he noticed the many wanted posters fluttering through the air around him, having been caught up in the ghost's battle.

Most of them meant nothing to him, not even his own. But there was still one that almost immediately caught his eye. One of a giant yellow and green dragon with a very turtle-like spiked shell on its back.

 _The once proud shell of King Bowser Koopa now laid in a hundred shards across the field of battle, the largest each nearly the size of a full-grown man. The pieces and remaining bits of dragonish flesh were not alone in the wreckage. Craters, fried pieces of Goombas and Koopas, and even the titanic remains of the Demon Reaper Beast's outer layers laid scattered around the only two men left standing among all the destruction._

" _You wanna…you wanna maybe take five?" Junior asked, partially leaning against Dragonslayer as his Nergal flesh slowly healed his bleeding wounds._

" _Why? Afraid you can't keep up anymore?" Dan asked smugly, hands on his knees to keep himself supported as he looked just as worn and beaten as his opponent._

" _Me? I'm afraid for you. You look like your hip's about to go out any minute now, old man." Junior mocked with a smirk._

" _Old man? Boy, you are really asking for it now, bonehead." Dan laughed in his tiredness._

" _I'm practically begging it. But I don't think you're the one who can bring it." Junior quipped, though his grip on his sword nearly slipping as he did so, causing him to quickly grab back on so he wouldn't fall._

" _Why you little shit-eating-…" Dan smiled in spite of his body's pain and felt himself about to fall onto at least one knee from the weight of his own form. "Eh…feh. Sure, why not?" Dan shrugged. "Five-minute break. Then I go back to kicking your ass."_

" _I believe the only foot-imprinted ass around here is yours, Dan." Junior remarked as he fell thankfully to his butt on the ground. "Tell you what: once we get going again, I'll tear it off and show it to you as proof. How's that sound?"_

" _It sounds like you're going to look real funny trying to tear anything off without any hands." Dan retorted, sitting down as well, though positioning one of his legs properly in case he needed to get back up quickly._

" _We'll see." Junior said, closing his eyes to rest for a minute._

" _Guess so." Dan chuckled to himself as he did the same._

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… _Hey, Dan…"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _Mind if I ask you something I've been wondering about lately?"_

" _What?"_

" _You know how you told me you kind of got your big start by fusing with your old archenemy's ghost half, right?"_

" _Yeah. But it's still my mind in control of everything. Most Vlad's half did was give me a pretty decent power boost."_

" _But you still have all his old memories, right?"_

" _What of it?"_

" _And you told me he had a huge thing for your mom, right?"_

"… _Yeah?"_

"… _Do those old memories ever come back to you in…certain ways? Like do you ever feel kind of-"_

" _Okay, I'm going to stop you right there and ask that you please_ _not_ _bring up any very traumatizing issues I've so far managed to avoid in my weird, chaotic sort of life."_

" _Alright, alright. Just…just something I was wondering about…"_

"…"

"…"

"… _You realize I'm going to have to punch you even harder now because you've put this thought in my head, right?"_

" _I honestly do not blame you. Like, more than you will ever know, I do not blame you._

"…"

"…"

"… _Heh." Dan gave a small short laugh._

 _The two men looked across the field from each other, and unable to take it anymore, both their faces broke and they started laughing on and on like the idiots they felt they were._

Bowser's poster finally ceased its flutter and fell into the flames created by Skulktech's explosion. The dry paper evaporated into ashes almost instantly and Dan was left staring into the fire. The fire that, to his mind, started to look like a face.

 _ **"Heh. Wuss."**_

" _ **Wuss."**_

" _ **Wuss."**_

The word kept echoing through his head and Dan's teeth gritted so hard it was a wonder they didn't just shatter in his jaw. The energy that started to crackle around his body, that fed on his rage…it had nowhere else it could go but out.

"GODDAMMIT SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

The green energy spun around him before it became blinding and lashed out against the entire town, blasting apart the buildings and people in one solid wave. The mushroom cloud that resulted from such an onslaught of power could be seen for miles across. Where there'd once been a small town along the border of Death's Domain was now nothing but a large dusty crater, and at its center laid Dan, down on his hands and knees.

Dan panted hard, never having released so much of his own energy at once and feeling half dead because of it.

At yet, somehow, he still knew a blast like that wouldn't have been even close enough to beat Junior. Not the Junior he knew now.

With his tired limb, Dan punched his fist in frustration against the ground, barely kicking up any dust from the blow. Still breathing hard, Dan closed his eyes. Rest. He just…just needed a moment of rest.

Slowly, Dan felt his breath starting to slow to normal.

"My word, and I thought I had a temper." Dan's eyes shot open as he heard the sudden impressed voice.

Bolting upwards and turning his head quickly, Dan looked and saw the Boogieman, standing confidently before him just a short distance away, holding his hands behind his back. Upon seeing this unknown man, Dan immediately blasted at him with a beam from his hand. However, much to his shock, the attack went right through Boogie without even a mark on him. But this kind of intangibility…whatever it was it wasn't the type like a ghost could do, judging by the lack of Dan's ghost sense going off. But it still somehow felt familiar.

"And a hair trigger to boot. I say, you really are the whole package." Boogie continued speaking, his tone completely fearless. "Normally when someone falls asleep their senses are dulled but I guess every rule has its exception."

Upon the blue demon's words, Dan understood the situation. "I passed out from exhaustion." He said in his realization.

"Indeed you did. But in case you're worried, don't be. You still totally annihilated that innocent village before blacking out." Boogie told him. "That part was real. But, unfortunately, that means Junior kicking your butt was too."

Dan stood up from his knees. "You know, the last someone entered my dreams without asking, it didn't go so well for them." He said, feeling too tired to stay as angry as before.

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware of Nocturne's fate at your hands." Boogie casually waved it off. "Personally I never liked the guy. He was very selfish with the dreams he haunted so you actually did me a favor there."

"You're welcome." Dan uttered bluntly. "Now then, if you don't mind, I'd recommend you let me wake up before I give you a reenactment of what I did to him."

"Now, now. Let's not be too hasty there, Mr. Phantom. We actually have much to discuss." Boogie wagged his finger at him, getting a hateful glare from Dan. "My name is The Boogieman and I'm here on the request of my master, the God of Magic, to extend forward a business proposition of sorts to you. He witnessed your battle against Typhon and the rest of our stolen forces and was most impressed with you."

"I'm not interested." Dan shot him down without even a moment of thought on the matter.

"But my dear unfriendly ghost, you don't even know what we're offering here." Boogie pressed on away, vanishing from where he was and reappearing beside Dan, throwing his arm over his broad shoulder to a far too familiar manner. "You see, I have it on good authority that a certain rival of yours *cough* Junior *cough* has left the safety of his home behind and is travelling towards a certain location in the Ghost Zone. A castle that houses a certain someone you might want to know about." Boogie said as tapped his finger against Dan's chest.

"I'm not interested in being anyone's lapdog. And certainly not someone like you." Dan repeated as he pushed Boogie off of him.

"Dan, Dan, you misunderstand me." Boogie shook his head. "We're not asking you to join our little noble cause. Just to uhhh help us out a little bit. And help us in a way where you benefit greatly too. Once I explain the situation to you, you'll see where in all this lies the possibility for your abilities to greatly improve and then get you that rematch with Grim Jr I know you're very much in the mood for. Believe me, I understand well how you feel. The sting of such a humiliating defeat. Don't you want to get even, Dan?"

"You don't understand." Dan stated under his breath.

"Pardon?" Boogie asked.

"I said, no, you don't understand." Dan repeated again, shoving Boogie in his chest. "You really think that my anger, that all of this, is just because I could barely put up a fight against Junior? That this is because I lost?"

Boogie looked up at the ghost in great puzzlement. "Well…I did. Right up until you said all that and now I…I really am not sure what to think." He admitted to him.

Practically snarling, Dan said "I can handle losing a fight, no matter how bad I did in it. I've got the memories of a supervillain whose ass I used to kick all the time stuck in my head. I've got Clockwork's threat of non-existence constantly hanging over my head. I don't like to lose but it's not a concept I'm unfamiliar with. I'm not a child. I can accept when I fail. …But winning a fake fight…that's something else entirely…"

Boogie started to feel the energy rising up from Dan's core filling the air all around them and making it thick enough to nearly choke on. Given that this was just a dream, Boogie could only imagine what kind of power was pouring out of Dan's actual body right now in the waking world.

"50 to 49, my favor." Dan bared his teeth. "That's how many times I won vs. him. There were times we fought when we just didn't bother keeping count but to me, the count was always a good way to remind be how close to each other's level we were and to make sure never to slip up and let him get ahead of me for too long. …And now I know that all those times where I won…those victories were complete FAKES!" The ground around Dan exploded in his rage, causing even Boogie to take a quick jump back, as the dream was starting to twist to fit the ghost's violent emotional state. "All this time he had so much more power he was keeping held back! So much more power that he could have flattened me with! And yet, he let me win! Handed me victories out of what?! Pity?! Charity?! Or just so he could have his own private joke at my expense?! Have a laugh over how outclassed his ignorant little ghost pet really is! One that's not even worthy enough to go all out on!"

The sky above them darkened. Bolts of lightning struck against each other like hammers as the heavens thundered endlessly.

"NOBODY GETS AWAY WITH MOCKING ME LIKE THAT! NOBODY!" Dan roared, somehow louder than the booms themselves.

Boogie, at first almost having been taken aback by the whole thing, felt the cunning smile slowly return to his face. _"He's even better than you'd hoped, master."_ He thought with pride.

Once Dan had gotten enough of his anger out and he felt safe enough to approach, Boogie placed a hand on the ghost's shoulder. "Perhaps you are right. I did not understand." He said to him as Dan's rage slowly subsided. "But, the God of Magic's offer still stands as it is. We wish to have Junior out of the way and you wish to have your revenge on him for how he has mocked you for all these years. Let us help each other, my friend. Let me show you the path my master has foreseen for you. The path that will take you far beyond the powers you now hold and allow you to show Junior a more reversed situation. The path that will take you far beyond who you are now, in more ways than one."

Hesitant as he still was, Dan noticed that look in the dream demon's eye. A look that was heavily hinting at a secret he knew Dan would be very interested in knowing.

"I'm listening."

* * *

Several miles away from the Castle Grimskull, Daniela halted her flight path, spotting the small mushroom cloud of dust and fire rising in the distance. "What in the world…?" She considered checking it out for moment before deciding against it. She already had a plan and there was no reason to back away from it now after coming this far.

Landing gently on the edge of a rocky cliffside, Daniela closed her eyes and took in a deep meditative breath as she readied herself. _"I am sorry, mother. Father. Manny. I know sneaking out again on my own is surely a foolish error in judgement. Especially without Junior here to save me anymore. …But if I am to truly improve how I am, then I must actually put in the effort myself, and take the same risk as Junior and Minnie did when they left home."_

Opening her eyes back up, Daniela held out her hands before her. _"This should be far enough outside of Grimskull's main protections."_ She reasoned to herself. _"How did Dan-…I and Manny's birth father…say this went again?"_

Daniela let her hands wander, trying to get a feel for it. _"…there are these little cracks all throughout the realms, all stretching out from the Ghost Zone."_ She remembered Dan's words, wiggling her fingers like she believed he did.

After minutes passed by and not feeling anything, Daniela closed her eyes and let her body float freely off the cliff, letting her other senses take control. It was an odd decision, she felt, on her part. She had no idea in truth what she was feeling around for other than some vague crack. But a crack in what? The whole very concept was asinine, she wanted to say. But as Dan had already shown her the portal opening, clearly she could not stubbornly deny that it was still possible regardless of what she thought.

Almost an hour passed and still no results. Daniela, with her eyes still closed, didn't even have any idea how far away she was from where she'd started. But still, she calmly kept trying. She had all the time she needed to keep at it and no reason left to quit.

And a few short minutes later, as though a reward for her continued efforts, Daniela felt something she never had before, as her fingertips seemed to slide into some kind of opening in the air. A warm glow, that that of her ecto-blasts only softer, started to spread its way around her hand and, acting strangely more on instinct than her memories of Dan, turned her hand like she was holding a doorknob.

Daniela felt a burst of sickly, cold air hit her face and her own breath forcibly leave her lungs. Opening up her eyes, there in front of her, was a swirling green vortex into the Ghost Zone.

"I…I did it." Daniela stuttered in disbelief, unable to help herself but to smile. It was smaller than what Dan had made. By the look of it just barely wide enough to fit her body in through. And quite a bit more wobbly to structure, too. But still, the fact that she'd gotten it at all…it was a sense of pride she'd almost long since forgotten how to have.

Seeing the portal start to wobble some more, possibly indicating it wasn't going to remain open for much longer, Daniela shook herself out of her celebrative state and quickly readied herself to leave.

" _Mother, father…I promise you I will return to aid our family when our enemies next strike."_ Daniela thought as she gave one finally look off in the direction she knew their home lied. _"But be it that I return with Junior or simply armed with my own strength, I swear to you my presence will not be a burden to our side in battle again. Next time…next time I will be better."_

And before she could chicken out or change her mind, Daniela dived into her first portal.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Yeah, the Rick and Morty stuff was something of an experiment, so I'm curious how well it actually was. I've kind of been wanting to do something like this ever since they appeared in the PPGD comic (and obviously, I'm a fan of the show). Also, Rick does not complete speak for me, I like _Predators_ and _Death Battle_ , despite the flaws of them both.

Speaking of things from out of nowhere, the Spectre from DC comics, or in this particular case, _Batman The Brave and the Bold_ , voiced by Mark Hamill (or at least that's how I imagined his voice in my head while writing this). Back when I wrote my Empire of Death story, I didn't know of many fictional characters from Heaven and Hell that I could use. With Dee Dee, the Spectre, and possibly the Anarchy sisters from _Panty and Stocky_ in other stories, that is thankfully not the case anymore. I mostly included Spectre in this as a way of given an idea of how marrying Mandy has affected Grim's standing with the other realms. Yes, Grim has more respect now but Death is supposed to be a pretty neutral character between all the realms and with Mandy's influence, Death is most certainly not that anymore.

Dan's pride is hurt. Not because he lost to Junior but because he thinks Junior was holding back his real power because Dan wasn't worthy enough to use it on.

 **QTP:** Why does Grim see a simple grassy and tree filled field every time he goes to Heaven? What did the Spectre mean by _**"Before this ordeal reaches its end, it will be more than just the souls of your enemies who are crying out for vengeance on the one who has wronged them."**_? Why was Dexter one of the souls stolen from Heaven? What is the God of Magic's sudden interest in Dan? What will happen to Daniela now that's she's left again, this time completely on her own?


	16. In the Castle of the King

**Part 16: In the Castle of the King**

 **desdelor97:** Thank you.

 **DPSS:** 1.) I really like the answer, especially the resting part since Grim is more easygoing than his wife.

2.) Oh yeah, definitely.

3.) In this case, "sadistic asshole" definitely describes Drax's character, given that he brought a long dead demon back to life as a cyborg to do his bidding while also belittling him for fun.

4.) Indeed.

5.) This actually was one of the ideas I considered when I first decided to give Daniela ice powers like Danny's.

 **Kelly Fiction:** I glad you liked it, and I was wondering if anyone would catch Dan screaming the same swears as the TFS Vegeta. With DeeDee, while I wasn't the biggest fan of hers on _Dexter's Laboratory_ (I found her a bit annoying because she kept destroying Dexter's stuff for no reason), she's one of those characters too pure for me to imagine being corrupted by the Grim Tale's darker future like some other characters. It's like trying to imagine a dark and vengeful Bubbles: it can happen but it's not likely to work unless I really know what I'm doing.

1.) I am glad this is a thing in the comic, where it's clear Grim was heavily influenced by his time trapped with Billy and Mandy, whether he liked it or not.

2.) Without spoiling too much, it's more the former than the latter on your guesses. As for Spectre's vagueness, I'd actually put him in the exact neutral center between HIM and Clockwork. HIM is vague so that he can push things in a direction that benefits himself and evil in general. Clockwork is vague so that he can push things in a direction that benefits all and good in general. In the comics, Spectre is a very "eye for an eye" kind of being. You do harm and you will be harmed. Simple and as neutrally thinking as that, at least when he doesn't have a human host to try and guide him.

3.) This time it's the former of your guesses that's correct. Without giving too much away, Dexter and Drax are two separate, yet clearly connected in some way, people from each other.

4.) Correct on all counts.

5.) Hee…

 **Coldblue:** Good to hear from you again. About my responses, I don't mind taking the time to write them, as I tend to write out responses to all my reviewers in advance before I upload the chapter. That said, if you'd prefer my responses to be shorter, as I do tend to ramble, that's not a problem.

If I ever do the Civil War Grim Tales/PPGD thing, it'll probably be after I fully figure out what side everyone's on and why, as the original Civil War comic pisses me off with how it treats Cap and Tony and the Injustice Games really piss me off with how they treat Superman and Wonder Woman.

While I agree it's a bit weird for someone as vengeful as the Spectre to be in Heaven, he is also known as the literal Wrath of God so I'd say he probably gets to come and go as he pleases. Plus he's a powerful enough guy to have waiting behind the pearly gates to make Heaven's enemies think twice before trying to knock them down.

For your answers to the QTP's:

1.) Yeah, I imagine after dealing with Billy and Mandy, just being able to sit down for a bit uninterrupted would seem like heaven, so I get what you're saying.

2.) I really like all these theories.

3.) You are right that in this Grim Tales universe I'm writing Dexter is the smartest person from his universe. Rick, who comes from another universe, I do feel is smarter but mainly because how smart he is is part of his show's joke. It's the same as if I were to have Saitama running around the Grim Tales or PPGD universes, where he'd be the physically strongest person around because that's part of his show's joke.

4.) Dan as a God of Destruction? Huh. I'll have to give that some thought. I don't think that's something that'll quite happen in this story, as his rival, Junior, is a potential threat to the entirety of all that exists, as Clockwork has stated in the comic, but not because he possesses the power to blow it all up. It's because he has the power to devour the souls of all that exists and basically become all that exists once he's done. I don't want to make Dan planet destroying or universe destroying level yet if the guy who is supposed to be his biggest rival isn't even at that level (Junior actually has more in common with Marvel's Galactus than he does Beerus or Frieza in terms of why he's a threat, now that I think about it). Fun fact, one idea I've had in the past for a oneshot was to make Mandy train to become the new God of Destruction, just to freak everyone out.

5.) I am certainly hoping that these next few chapters give Daniela some of the growth she's been really needing, both physically and character-wise.

Now to answer your questions (and I apologize if I ramble on too much again):

 _1.) Will Dan Phantom attain his power on his OWN, besides the God of Magic giving some instruction/place where Dan Phantom could train and become stronger? Should we just expect the God of Magic to just give Dan Phantom a POWER boost similar to Vegeta in "Dragon Ball Z" in the Majinn Buu Saga?_

Without giving too much away, it is debatable whether the power Dan attains later can be considered "on his own" or not. To be clear, the God of Magic is not going to GIVE Dan anything but an opportunity, so there will be no pointing his finger and then boom, Dan's a god now too. But the power I'm planning on giving Dan will not be from the results of training or anything, if that's what you mean.

That's mainly because Dan already IS the strongest ghost in existence, with only two exceptions, one of them being Clockwork, who is not physically strong but controls time, which few can fight against. Dan is already as powerful as a ghost can get naturally through training, if not even more so because he's been able to polish himself against Junior (whom even when holding back is still considerably powerful). If nothing else, I will say that his power-up won't be an ass-pull I came up with for this story. It will tie into Dan's own story with events from before he even met Junior.

 _2.) Would it be okay if MinnieMandy had some Cybernetics from "Invader Zim", "My Life as a Teenage Robot", "Powerpuff Girls D" and "Grim Tales" sources? Maybe MinnieMandy have mixture of Supernatural/Advance Technology?_

I don't mind Minnie having cybernetics, I just want to make sure it fits with her character and the ways she'd get the upgrades in the Grim Tales world. I think that's a big difference between Grim Tales and PPGD. PPGD focuses a lot more on the super-science because more of its heroes and villains are based in some kind of science, while Grim Tales focuses a lot more on magic and gothic mythology because most of its characters are connected in some way to the supernatural. Drax is actually the only Grim Tales character I've used so far that is scientifically based, and thus why I've thought more about how HE in particular would improve the ragdoll design scientifically than I have in any of my other stories.

Most of the time, whenever I've thought up ways of taking Minnie beyond her ragdoll form, it's usually things like the following:

Making her an angel with a pure soul that can leave behind her ragdoll body to fight. Maybe give her a holy garment that can turn into a holy weapon (probably a bow with light arrows) like with the angels in _Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt_.

Make her the Queen of the Nergals by giving her Nergal Senior's right eye.

An idea I've toyed with in my head recently is give her the power of SHAZAM, where she says the magic word and her ragdoll body not only transforms into a living one more fitting to her age but also would make her the Underworld's mightiest mortal. The idea is that Captain Marvel, now taking the place of the wizard Shazam, picks Minnie to be his successor because she's already had great power and willingly gave it up to save her brother's life, thus she knows the value of power but what is also more important than it. That being said, Minnie starts to refuse to change back to her normal form after a while because, after being virtually indestructible, she's afraid to become a frail ragdoll again.

You can see the pattern, right? Most of my ideas for Minnie tend to involve magic rather than science because magic is something Minnie's life is already greatly connected to. Even Mandy doesn't seem to use that much tech outside of home security. She tends to rely more on her own skills, her guns, and sometimes the items in her vault. So I don't have a problem with giving Minnie cybernetic upgrades. My problem is more I'm not sure how to introduce the technology in any given story I'm writing because most Grim Tales characters have little connection to high-tech science. If you have any ideas on that front, please, let me know because I'm more than willing to hear them, because I do like your idea of a cybernetic eye that can detect the supernatural (I can see something like FentonWorks developing that). And don't worry, you're not harping. It's an idea you want to see and one I'm curious for how I could make it work in the future.

 _3.) Will Manny Phantom discover a UNIQUE ability, skill, or item to compete with Daniela Phantom? Maybe Manny being able manipulate emotions or use the Left Hand of Horror in the future if Manny loses a Hand?_

I do plan for Manny to have something of his own. Some kind of power that Daniela won't have or at least not have the same way with it as Manny. I gave Daniela the portals and the ice because she isn't very strong but is very good with the technical ghost powers and details that Manny tends not to have the patience for. Since Manny is the opposite, his unique ability should be based in his more aggressive but still growing as a person nature. With him going to Lord Pain for help, I think I have a decent ability or strength I can give him but I do really like your suggestion of his mere presence haunting his opponents and causing intimidation, as that is a perfect fit for his fighting type, so I need to keep that in mind.

I will say that I won't be giving Manny Horror's Hand but that's because I already have a plan for that item later in the story that I think most will be happy with (as I think it's one most have wanted to see for a while now).

 _4.) Should we expect Grim Junior powers/growth to come from the Underworld? Does Grim Junior have any abilities from Heaven or is favored by Heaven given that Grim Junior tries to distance himself from Mandy, even if it because of his lust?_

For the most part, Heaven keeps an eye on Junior because of his family (both the one he knows and the one he doesn't) but tends not to bother him. Like Pandora's Ghost said, Junior does think of himself as Grim's son and even though he's distanced himself from Mandy, he does still have the same loyalty to her as he does with the rest of his family (it's just that that loyalty has more complications in it because of his lust for her). So to Heaven, Junior gets no special treatment for the same reason Grim doesn't anymore. They can't trust that they won't give Mandy some kind of opportunity to strike at their kingdom and take it for her own.

As for Junior gaining angelic powers, while taking them might be a possibility, I can see those powers hurting him more than they'd help him. Junior is simply too full of rage and the influences of the Underworld (the biggest two being Mandy and HIM) for the powers to work right for him. I'm not saying one has to be pure to be an angel but I believe Minnie is more suited to be an angel or at least receive their powers because her love for Junior and her desire to protect him is real and powerful, while Junior doesn't at all trust his own feelings and feels nothing but loathing for himself because of them. Minnie will reach up for the light no matter what to protect those she loves while Junior just keeps falling further down into darkness, if that makes any sense.

 _5.) Does Mandy know why Grim Junior is distancing himself from his family? Does Mandy have some plan to manipulate Grim Junior lust and gain more power/territory in the Underworld?_

I can't say too much here without giving away some major spoilers for much later in the story, but I will say that she has her suspicions as to why specifically he's staying away now of all times.

I will say that I really want to do a oneshot at some point in the future of Mandy replacing Grim with Junior and there being a small power struggle between the two of them. While Mandy likes being the one in charge, she's never had one who could claim to be her equal and back it up like Junior maybe could. So their relationship would be the two trying to get the other to fully submit to them, something they'd both find a bit uncharacteristically fun as Mandy's never had a real challenge like Junior before and vice-versa, which would put Junior far above Dan, Nergal Jr, and Junior's father in her book of worthy mates.

 _6.) What Universe/Cartoon show would you want to start your Original Character to be in? Do you favor "Dexter's Lab", "Powerpuff Girls", "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy", "Invader Zim", "My Life as a Teenage Robot", "Courage the Cowardly Dog", "Codename: Kids Next Door", "Powerpuff Girls D" or "Grim Tales"?_

This is a tricky one. If I were to go based on the universes I know the most about, I'd say either the Marvel or DC comics universes. But if we're talking about what worlds would give the most and best possibilities, I'd say either _One Punch Man_ or _Powerpuff Girls D_. OPM because it'd be really fun to create just a weirdly named hero and have him work his way up the ranks from the bottom of Class C. I'd probably have him inspired by Saitama in some way, where Saitama is like his Superman and unknowingly inspired my OC to do something more with his life after saving it. PPGD because the possibilities are nearly endless for where the character could come from, what they could do, and what villains they could fight, while also leaving open the possibility for the _Grim Tales_ future to happen. An OC pawn created by HIM to help secure his victory over Megaville or maybe just someone who suffered a superhero related accident at the girl's school that resulted in giving him/her one of the hero's abilities.

I actually do have some original character ideas I've come up with on the side and just haven't used yet. Most of them are more side character or new villain types but if you ever want to hear any of them, just let me know. I'd list them now but I feel I've been rambling for too long again.

Thanks again for posting. They were fun to read.

 **nightmaster000:** I'm glad the Rick and Morty cameo seems to be going over well. I was actually afraid it was just too out of nowhere, especially since I don't write for comedy that often (the closest was probably the Hansel and Gretel Grim Tales oneshot.

1.) I like this theory. It fits with his character.

2.) Kind of a combination of will do and has done. She tends to plan things out well in advance.

3.) True, but I imagine Drax still considers himself superior.

4.) Possibly.

5.) I can think of one big one she'll be encountering.

 **DarkDremora:** I'm really glad people are liking the Rick and Morty section. And yeah, Vegeta was some of this influence for this version of Dan.

1.) Not as the lord of Death and husband of Mandy, certainly.

2.) Correct on all counts.

3.) Good guesses but I will say that Drax and Dexter are two completely separate people, though there is obviously a connection between them, given how similar they are.

4.) If the next confrontation I'm planning between Junior and Dan goes well, it will most certainly push him.

5.) You're right about the trouble and stumbling parts.

To answer your question: …Actually, that's not something I've ever really thought about before. Usually when I'm reading Junior and Minnie's lines it's usually just a boy or girl's voice and not anyone in particular. Usually I'll give a character a voice they've had in something I've seen them in before, like Mandy and Grim still have their voices from the original show and the Spectre has Mark Hamill's voice from _Batman The Brave and the Bold_ but Junior and Minnie? I guess when it comes to original characters I don't really give them a specific actor's voice in my head. That's something to think about though.

 **Yinyang2017:** I will definitely give your ideas some thought, especially Mimi confronting the traitor.

Just a quick question and I apologize if it seems rude or attacking by why do your review posts have no periods or punctuation marks? Is it because you're on a phone or the type of browser you're on? Again, I don't mean to sound rude, it's just a little difficult to read your posts when I can't tell where a sentence begins and when the other ends.

 **Lord Razer:** Fate or the guy who watches over it. Either way, Daniela's got stuff coming to her.

 **Guest:** I've never played Mother/Earthbound so probably not. I've heard of the resemblance to the Giygas the Devil's Essence has but I didn't know it was confirmed to be it, so I'll have to look more into it.

 **Nana22:** He will likely appear. I'm not going to say whether he's a hero or villain because spoilers.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

Junior looked to his left.

And then to his right.

"So I take it I'm not welcome here." He remarked offhandedly.

He was surrounded by no less than thirteen green skeleton ghosts, all with the tips of their steel swords pointed against his body at different angles to confine him.

They all stood on the first and very bottom floor of the castle known as Pariah's Keep, its red brick walls and spiraling staircase on all sides around them. It'd been easy to find the place once he entered the Ghost Zone but Junior had still waited for at least a day to scope out the castle before entering; still wary of HIM's reasoning for giving him the Infi-Map so freely. Once he had a good idea of what he'd be dealing with (strangely enough, never spotting the Ghost King himself even once though the guards were quite active), Junior walked right in through the front door. And thus, where he found himself now.

"That is something of an understatement, whelp." An authoritative voice sounded throughout the chamber as a black clad knight entered, his cape of purple fire trailing behind him as he walked. "State your business here or be run through." He ordered, the skeleton guards awaiting his command.

"So, you're the Fright Knight, huh?" Junior asked calmly, recognizing the ghost's picture from his wanted posters, recalling that his bounty was not too shabby actually. "Rumored second-in-command of the Ghost King's forces?"

"Rumored nothing." The knight stated, hitting his gloved fist to his chest. "I wear the title given to me by my liege proudly for all to see."

"Well, someone's been made employee of the month more than once." Junior remarked. "Look, I need to have a talk with your boss. I have it on good (yet paradoxically questionable) authority that he has information on a guy who's been causing my family a lot of trouble."

"You presume too much importance for yourself, knave!" The Fright Knight bellowed in anger as he withdrew his pumpkin-hilted sword and point it at the Reaper.

"Knave?"

"The Ghost King is the master of this realm! The most powerful of all ghosts! This is his domain that you have entered and you will show proper respect!"

"If I wasn't interested in showing respect I wouldn't have come in through the front door where everyone could see me." Junior pointed out, seeing the Fright Knight's blade as no different from the many others threatening him. "Can't imagine the guy would be very willing to see me if I just snuck in past you guys. Wouldn't have looked good on the old employee file either."

"Underestimation of your opponent's abilities often leads to one's ruination." The Fright Knight stated.

"Trust me, I'm not." Junior said, folding his arms confidently.

"That remains to be seen."

Junior raised an eyebrow at him. "You…you don't know who I am, do you?" He asked with a small tone of realization.

"Is that of any consequence?" The Fright Knight asked dismissively.

A smirk spread across Junior's face.

Less than a minute later and the Fright Knight found himself crashing through the castle's walls into the outside, his body nearly sliding off the floating mound of rock upon which the castle sat.

"And that's without me drawing my sword or growing stuff out of my body. You really want to see what happens when I get serious?" Junior remarked as he walked through the hole the ghost's body had made, casually brushing the green bone dust from the defeated guards off his jacket.

The Fright Knight glaring at him as he stood back to his feet, Junior heard the quiet flaps of leather wings behind him and quickly turned to grab hold of the horn decorating the helmet of the Fright Knight's demonic black Pegasus. Other hand taking hold of the beast's neck, Junior judo-tossed the mare over his shoulder, causing it to land painfully beside its master.

"Okay, look, I'll fight you no problem but I don't like beating on animals, so could you maybe tell your _My Little Teen Angst Pony_ to stay out of this?" Junior said as he went back to facing them straightly.

The horse given an offended grunt as it stood back up, the Fright Knight gently stroking its green mane as it shook the feeling back into its batty wings. "Your power may give credit to your cockiness, intruder, but you are still out of your depth." The knight stated strongly as he stood before Junior determinedly. "I am the Fright Knight! The masters I have served in my afterlife have been the greatest two kings this realm has ever known, and my place as their second-in-command is not one I was given by default!"

From his belt the Fright Knight pulled out a gold chained necklace with a green slitting eye-like jewel in its center. "Allow me to present to you one of the many prizes I have won as the greatest warrior in all the Ghost Zone!"

The knight threw the amulet around his steed's neck and the instant the two ends connected, its jewel began to glow and the horse began to change. Its size and muscles grew at a rapid rate, creating cracks across the ground just from its sheer increasing weight. The flames emanating from its hooves burned fiercer and its wingspan grew to nearly the size of a circus tent while the horse's neck stretched to compensate, revealing think, armor-like scales running from its throat down through its chest. Once the Nightmare's growth had finished, halting a size now ever larger than the castle's front gates, the beast unleashed a thundering roar that slipped into a deep neigh at its end; a call fitting a dragon-horse.

Junior had to crane his head way back to gaze at the new towering figure. "…Well that's new." Junior remarked, admittedly impressed.

Pulling its head back before thrusting it forward, the Nightmare blasted at Junior with spectral blue flame.

* * *

Daniela flew speedily across the Ghost Zone's slime-colored skies, throwing her hand forward as she opened up a portal feet before her. Diving into it, she emerged out in the artic wastes of one of the realm's far-off sections, though she did not know its name. Performing the same maneuver again, the next portal took her over the skies of the wasteland outside of Aku City, the black outline of which she could see in the distance. One more time and the portal brought her back into the Ghost Zone, though back into a section of it she'd deemed as a safe zone, as with the exception of the many floating gears and an unknown building Daniela knew well enough to keep her distance from, this place was mostly deserted.

The obvious reason she was drawn here so much was because it gave her plenty of room and space to practice, as she continued doing now by opening up another portal and sticking only her hand in through. Turning her head to the opposite side Daniela could see another portal way off in the distance, with her own hand waving at her before releasing a blast of ecto-energy. Throwing her other hand up at it, Daniela opened up a second portal to catch the blast before it could reach her. This time she sent the attack coming at her from behind, at which she quickly turned around, letting the previous portals close before opening up another one. Like before, the portal caught the blast, but this time the portal it spat out of opened up just a few feet in front of the same portal, causing it to go back in and repeat the same action. In an endless loop the blast went in and out of both portals before it finally burned through all this energy and momentum and just faded away harmlessly, not even a scratch on Daniela.

"Alright… Alright, I'm getting the hang of this." Daniela breathed happily as she let the portals close and held her fist before herself in triumph.

She'd been at these efforts continuously for over a week and her words were most certainly not false ones. Even with the Ghost Zone having far more cracks between realms running through it than the Domain of Death did, Daniela still had found it exceedingly difficult to open up portals like Dan had, especially portals to send her where she wanted to go, thus why at one time she found herself trapped in a thick jungle littered with traps on one of the zone's many floating islands. It was more than likely some sort of hunting ground and Daniela couldn't thank the gods of every pantheon enough that she'd gotten out of there before the actual hunter ever came there.

Still, the experience and setbacks had only made her more determined to get it right and so far she'd made a great deal of progress. Daniela supposed it was a great help to her that the portals didn't seem to require much energy to open, if any, and so she could just keep going. It was also something that took her a while to notice but Daniela slowly realized she never felt hungry while she was here. She still needed sleep but as long as she was in her ghost form, Daniela never felt like she was ever that tired. Like the realm was somehow constantly rejuvenating her. Even her injuries from the fight with Lantern and the Sins had completely healed up by the end of the second day.

"My word, those were some impressive portals." Daniela was suddenly startled by the calm, impressed voice from behind her. "I'd honestly be hard-pressed to do better myself."

Turning quickly around, it was another ghost that floated before her, his skin color much more blue than Daniela's own greenish tint. He wore a purple cloak and hood around himself, though it did nothing to hide the lightning shaped scar along his left eye or the rest of his face for that matter.

Upon seeing the clock staff in his hand and the very obvious pendulum clock embedded in his chest, Daniela was quick to put two and two together about who owned this very gear-filled area. "Oh! Sir, I'm so sorry. I did not mean to trespass. I'd thought this section of the Ghost Zone to be abandoned." She quickly apologized, figuring it'd be wise to try the diplomatic route before just bolting.

"It is fine. An understandable mistake." The ghost told her, his easygoing tone relaxing her a bit. Holding out his hand politely, he said "My name is Clockwork. It is very lovely to meet you."

Halfway into his sentence the ghost's form turned to that of an old man with a long white beard, causing Daniela to take herself aback a bit. Though given how plainly he continued to talk, she could only assume this was normal for him (wouldn't be the weirdest thing she'd seen in her time here). Shaking his gloved hand back, Daniela said "You as well. I am Daniela."

"Ah yes, I believe I've heard of you. One of Mandy's two youngest." Clockwork said knowingly as his form changed again into that of a toddler (though still with the same deep voice, to Daniela's slight discomfort). "I'm actually good friends with your father, though you of course should not just take my word on that. It is dangerous around here after all."

" _He must be speaking of Lord Death."_ Daniela remarked to herself, feeling like she did vaguely remember Grim and her mother speaking of someone with a name like his. She also doubted, for what little she'd experienced of Dan, that anyone would be speaking of him in this fond of a manner.

Floating past her and his form finally changing back to the grown man he started as, Clockwork remarked "Ask your father about me sometime. I would love for you two and your brother to come visit someday. It'll be fun to catch up on old times."

"Uh…sure. No problem." Daniela said awkwardly. She found the ghost a bit off-putting but not in a way where she felt like he was dangerous, just…weird.

"Well, I will let you get back to what you were doing." Clockwork said, giving a polite bow as he took his leave. "Oh! And be careful not to get too near Ember's soundstage in the far west. Her guitar's vibrations tend to wreak havoc on portal destinations when she practices."

"Oh…uh…well…thank you." Daniela bowed back, causing Clockwork to smile at her and continue on his way. Watching him for a bit as he headed off for the one building in the building in the area, Daniela turned and opened up a new portal, ready to get back to training.

Clockwork then pressed down the button on top of his staff. "Time out." His words echoed as everything within the realm suddenly halted in pause, unaware they were stopped in a single moment of time.

His form becoming old again, Clockwork flew back over to Daniela, whose unmoving portal was just as frozen as she was. Out of curiosity, Clockwork stuck his head into it. "Bermuda Triangle." He commented, seeing the still ocean waves and glass-like pelts of thick rain. "I'm almost sad to take you away from this one." He remarked as he pulled his head back out and, with a wave of his hand, closed it and opened up a new portal in its exact place. "But I think you'll find this one more to your interests." His toddler form smiled at her as he floated away and back to where he was. Pressing down on the button again, "Time in." And the realm slid back into motion again.

Daniela, taking one final look back at the stranger whom to her view had not broken from his path on his way back to his home, entered into the portal.

Emerging on the other side, she found herself in another section of the Ghost Zone. One she did not recognize.

"Damn. I meant for it to lead me to the mortal world." Daniela swore, understandably thinking she had screwed up.

Holding out her hands to try again, Daniela was suddenly knocked back as a gigantic flying winged beast came within inches of her head as it flew past, it's roars seeming to emit a constant stream of fire from its mouth.

"A dragon?!" Daniela screamed as she watched the monster's body twist in its flight across the green sky, turning around to attack another winged figure in the sky of a more human size. Though upon seeing the massive blade this other figure wielded that was nearly as tall as him, Daniela realized "Wait, that's…Junior?!"

The dragon-horse came around with another blaze of blue fire. Knowing his red wings weren't quick enough to outrace the attack, Junior didn't even bother, instead using Dragonslayer to slash his way through the flames as he went at the beast head-on.

"Impressive as your strength may be, it is still wielded by a fool!" The Fright Knight bellowed at the approaching Reaper from his seat on his steed's back. His vile green blade, through smaller than Junior hulking one of iron, was enough to block the attack and push it back long enough to allow his dragon-horse to take another shot at Junior, forcing him to fall back. "The closest you will ever come to seeing the Ghost King is when your scattered ashes blow in through his window!"

"Well now, that just sounds unsanitary." Junior quipped with him as he twirled his sword in his hand, readying himself to attack again.

With a cry of "HYAH!" from its master, the beast charged at Junior, the flames of its hooves setting the ectoplasm in the air on fire. Junior flew at it again, easily dodging out of the way of its snapping teeth. With the Fright Knight protecting the dragon-horse's neck, Junior did not bother to try and strike it, slashing his blade instead through one of the beast's back legs, severing the limb off at the joint as he flew past.

The dragon-horse had a horrid noise from its pain, but as Junior turned around to witness his work, he saw the area around the torn leg glow before a new one quickly grew out to take its place.

"So, a regenerator, huh?" Junior commented as his wings flapped behind him.

"Indeed." The Fright Knight stated while angry flames snorted out of the dragon-horse's snout. "My boasts are never empty. With my noble steed, Nightmare, the Amulet of Aragon, and the power of Soul Shredder at my side, I will never lose!" He declared as his held his blade up high.

"You have a sword that can harm souls?" Junior asked, admittedly impressed as such weapons were far rarer that one would think.

"What? No, no, its cut vanquishes my foes to another plane of reality where their worst nightmares are brought to life!" The Fright Knight told him dramatically.

"…Then why is it called the Soul Shredder?" Junior asked.

"What?"

"Why is it called the Soul Shredder if it doesn't shred souls?" Junior repeated his question. "Wouldn't a name like Nightmare Blade or Fear's Edge be more appropriate?"

"Look, the blade was created before my time. I am simply its greatest wielder. I did not name it." The Fright Knight explained.

"Yes, I can understand that but the blade is still yours, isn't it? I don't see any reason you can't just rename it to something more fitting.

The Fright Knight pondered it for a minute. "Well…I suppose your point is not untrue. Though I must admit I have grown fond of its alliteration and worked its name into many of my poems, so perhaps it is something that is best to sleep on-No, no, SILENCE!" The knight yelled, shaking himself back to his senses. "You are attempting to distract me!"

"Not that hard, honestly." Junior remarked as he rushed his enemies again. With a blast of fire Nightmare smacked Dragonslayer away and prevented it from striking its head. But with his free hand Junior shot out numerous black tentacles to grab hold of the beast's face. "Heave ho!" The Reaper cried as he picked the dragon-horse up and threw it with great strength over his shoulder, causing both it and its rider to sail uncontrollably across the sky until they came crashing down onto another of the Ghost Zone's many barren floating islands.

Upon impact the Fright Knight was thrown off Nightmare's back and skidded on his chest across the ground. "No! My sword!" He yelled as it left his hand and fell over the island's edge.

Seeing his chance, Junior spun his sword and threw Dragonslayer like a dagger down at the Fright Knight. In a show of great loyalty, Nightmare threw its own body over its master to protect him, the iron blade cutting one of its wings off instead of hitting the knight.

Junior landed down on the island with them to retrieve his sword. "Damn. Really giving dogs a run for the title of man's best friend. Or since you're ghosts, does it not count?" Junior remarked as he yanked Dragonslayer out of the ground.

As his proud steed stood huddled over him, growling at Junior, the Fright Knight stood back up to his feet. "Nightmare and I fight as one. And as with the limb you cut off earlier, you've managed to only inconvenience us."

Soon as the words left his mouth, the dragon-horse sprouted forth a new slime-covered wing to take the place of the old, flapping it powerfully so that the winds blasted past Junior's face.

Still, Junior seemed completely unworried by this. Happy even, the ghost noticed. "Good to see. I was worried I might have to stop at one." Junior remarked, stirring the knight's confusion until the Reaper reached over and grabbed Nightmare's old severed wing.

With one solid motion, Junior threw the entire wing into his jaws, the entire thing being sucked up like a smoothie through his sharpened green teeth until there was nothing left, ending with Junior wiping his jaw with the back of his hand. "It's not as satisfying as a real soul but can't knock the flavor. You ghosts are like potato chips in that regard, honestly."

The dragon-horse jerked its head back fearfully and even the Fright Knight had to take a step back after witnessing such a sight. "What…what are you?!" He demanded to know.

Junior smirked, the hesitant pauses in the knight's tone making it clear he'd succeeded in getting to him. "Let me list the number of ways you've fucked up, pal." Junior started, smiling evilly the entire time. "My sword, for starters." He showed it off proudly in his hand. "Four hundred pounds of iron and steel that, as I'm sure you've noticed, can harm ghosts because of how much demon blood its previous owner bathed it in over time. Its name is Dragonslayer, and unlike your piece of tin, it's a name that means what it says. Then there's me. Not only a Reaper but the one and only Demon Reaper. I don't just have the power to take souls. I eat them as well. Now big boy's ghostly flesh might not amount to more than a quick shot of energy drink without consuming his soul too, but I'm sure that if I keep hackin' and slashin' away, I'll be able to get my fill off of what you regrow. So…" Junior pointed his blade at the dragon-horse's head. "Ready to go again?"

Rather comically, Nightmare blinked heavily at Junior's statement before panickily scratching at the amulet around its neck with its back hoof, much like a cat would. Sliding the necklace over its head, the amulet clacked onto the ground, returning the beast back to its normal horse form before it immediately took off into the sky as fast as it could.

"Coward!" The Fright Knight called after it, shaking his fist.

"Well, that's one down." Junior shrugged casually as he watched it fly. "And since I didn't even come here with the intention of beating on your boss if I didn't have to, I'd prefer it if you just ended this right now."

"I have a duty to my liege." The Fright Knight stated defiantly.

"And does your duty come with enough healthcare to cover the massive on-the-job incident you're about to have?" Junior pointed out to him.

"I don't know." The Fright Knight stated, completely serious. "I've never needed it before."

Raising an unamused eyebrow at the knight, thinking he really just didn't get the joke, Junior opened his mouth to say more but was silenced as he found a long green blade stabbing through his chest from behind his back.

At this sudden change, the Fright Knight smiled, though not that it could be seen underneath his helmet. "A battle consists of more than just who has the most raw power." He stated as he watched the green Nergal blood drip from Junior's latest wound. "Even when it leaves my grasp, the Soul Shredder still obeys my every command. The moment you let your guard down and allowed my blade its opening, this game of ours reached its checkmate!"

After that final dramatic word, the Fright Knight stood waiting awkwardly as nothing happened.

"Uh…" The ghost uttered blankly as Junior still stood where he was. With a wave of his hand, Soul Shredder pulled back and stabbed through Junior again. But again, other than the bleeding wounds, nothing happened. The sword pulled back and stabbed forward repeatedly after that, each action giving the same non-result.

"Okay, can you stop that? That's getting really annoying." Junior asked, his tone unnaturally calm for someone in his position.

The Fright Knight just stared at his Soul Shredder's blade sticking out through Junior's chest, clearly having cut him several times. "I…I don't understand." He shook his head in disbelief.

"Really? Because I do." Junior stated, not even bothering to remove the blade from his body as he folded his arms over its edge. "I'll admit, I was worried at first when you were talking about your blade here creating fear but now I'm guessing the only fears its capable of making are basic base level stuff. You know, like spiders, clowns, or failing a test. It's above the gases they make to stimulate fear in the mortal world but its way below some of the heavier hitters like Horror's Hand on the fear totem pole."

"My Soul Shredder banishes its victims to a dimension where they're forced to live out their worst nightmares!" The Fright Knight defended angrily.

"Dude, my uncle is Jack Skellington. My siblings and I have gotten our worst nightmares as Christmas presents. I doubt your party trick sword here would affect them either." Junior explained.

At that last statement, the Fright Knight gave a series of shocked blinks. "Wait…your uncle is Jack Skellington?"

"That's right."

"THE Jack Skellington?"

"The one and only."

"As in the King of Halloween?"

"Over two thousand years and still going strong."

The Fright Knight stared down at the ground, lost in thought, before he looked back up at Junior. "I…admit I find myself in something of a conflict here." He told him. "Yes, I have sworn an oath to my king but one of my many titles is The Spirit of Halloween, which is a title I wear quite proudly. I've actually…I've actually always wanted to meet Lord Skellington." He admitted with an uncharacteristic nervous laugh. "It's just that every time I've been freed from my pumpkin prison I've never had to chance to go out and find him before I was sealed away again."

"Well, tell you what, my friend of ghoulish frightmares," Junior said as he casually yanked the Soul Shredder out of his back. "You take a dive in this little match we've got going on here and I'll see if I can set up a little meet and greet between you two. You save some face in front of your boss and get to visit your idol. How's that sound?"

The Fright Knight place his hand to his chin in deep pondering while Junior walked up to him and handed the ghost back his sword. "…Do you really think the Ghost King will buy it?" He asked, trying to hide his excitement.

Junior brought his fist cracking down atop the Fright Knight's helmet, knocking him out cold. "Now he will." Junior remarked to the ghost's unconscious body. "And don't worry, I'll still make good on my end. My uncle loves meeting his fans. …The ones that don't obsessively dress up like him, anyway."

Sheathing Dragonslayer back onto its chain on his back, Junior flew back towards Pariah's Keep, his Reaper senses so overwhelmed by all the other ghosts and souls packed within this realm that he took no notice of Daniela's invisible form following close behind.

* * *

Daniela kept a short distance behind her brother as she trailed after him through the castle's hallways. _"He'll just tell me to go home if he sees I'm here."_ She justified to herself. _"But this might be my only chance to find out what he's up to and why he left home so suddenly."_

After wandering the halls for a bit and ascending to the very top of the spiral staircase, Junior finally came across a pair of large metal doors, each decorated with half of Pariah Dark's royal image. Junior pushed the doors open easily and the air in Daniela's lungs forced its way out through her mouth as her ghost sense went off, causing the teen to slap her hand over mouth.

Junior turned his head to look behind him, almost certain he'd heard a noise. But his attentions were soon turned a different direction as the torches of the new room lit themselves, revealing a large red room, housing several royal tapestries and a single throne, upon which sat a single glaring ghost.

"I believe I gave my guards orders that I was not to be disturbed." The ghost's deep voice echoed in the contained chamber, his elbow on the arm of his throne and his cheek resting against his fist, as he was clearly uninterested in this sudden intruder.

"Yeah, well, don't be too hard on them." Junior said as he stepped further into the throne room, Daniela cautiously following behind him while never taking her eyes off the other ghost. "Bad case of headaches and explosions going around. They have to think of their health, you know?"

The ghost on the throne grunted, unamused. Taking the moment to observe the ghost's appearance, Junior was fairly certain he'd never seen this guy before. He was of a far more human size than Junior had heard Pariah Dark to be, probably similar to his own height if the ghost was standing. He wore surprisingly little armor. Just the metal shoulder pads underneath his long white cape, flexible armored and padded gloves for his hands, and a chain mail tasset hanging down from his belt. His chest was almost completely exposed, covered only by a thick black shirt that bore some kind of insignia in its center that was too faded for Junior to make it out.

Still, none of that was of much importance. What was important was the skull decorated Ring of Rage on the ghost's right hand and the eternally green burning Crown of Fire atop his long, dirty white hair. Two items whose power could only be tamed by one being. The Ghost King.

"So, I take it you're the boss around here." Junior said, pointing to the crown. "My name is Grim Jr, and how should I address-"

"I know who you are." The Ghost King cut him off. "What do you want?"

Smirking as he was getting that funny feeling again of not being wanted here, Junior said "I need you to tell me anything you know about some guy called the God of Magic."

The Ghost King's glowing green eyes widened by a fraction of an inch at his words. "I don't know anything about the one you seek. Now leave."

"Now why didn't I believe you?" Junior asked cockily, the ghost's pause before speaking having not gone unnoticed.

"I don't care about what you believe." The Ghost King stated, his tone remaining controlled yet strong. "This is my realm and I want you gone from it."

"And I'm telling you that's not going to happen until I get the information I came here for." Junior declared. "So, we can either reach a solution diplomatically or in a way that has me shoving your face through a wall. Either way, I'd say we've reached an impasse."

"No." The Ghost King declared back. "We haven't."

Daniela noticed it before her brother did; how rapidly the temperature in the room had been dropping since they'd entered. Her breath was almost solid in front of her face and she knew it wasn't because of her ghost sense. Junior, now able to feel it to, rubbed his arm to warm it before nearly taking a jump back, as the red walls of the throne room started to ice over with a slow-moving wave of whiteness that spread out from behind the Ghost King's chair.

Daniela fell to her knees, shivering horribly, though still willing herself hard to stay invisible and not give herself away. _"This cold…it feels just like back with the Martian Grim Reaper in Aku City."_ She realized as it was intense enough to effect even her ghost form.

Yet somehow, even with that, it seemed like the cold was hitting Junior harder than it was her. While Daniela simply felt the need to rub herself to fight the chill, his feet were completely frozen to the brick of the floor and the white frost was completely covering up the black of his jacket as it passed over him.

" _D-dammit. This isn't good."_ Junior cursed to himself as it became harder and harder to move his body, the cold penetrating him straight to the bone and making his fingers feel like stiff glass. Didn't help either that his Nergal flesh really didn't do well in extremely cold temperatures, due to coming from a species created in the molten center of the Earth. _"The Ghost Rider's power…might be my only chance…"_ He thought as his body and mind started to go numb from the deep freeze. _"Can't risk going full Layer 3 and losing control again…but maybe…maybe just one quick burst!"_

Feeling the surge of heat welling up in his core, Junior let it loose, his skeleton erupting in a blaze of the Rider's hellfire. It ended almost as soon as it began, but with that few second burst of flame, Junior had not only instantly thawed himself but melted a nice wide circle around himself, completely free of any icy build-up.

"Woo!" Junior cheered from the sudden adrenaline the quick burst had brought on. "Almost had me there for a moment! But ask yourself honestly, Kingsley, would you really have been satisfied with just leaving me as one of Elsa's lawn ornaments?"

" _Yes!"_ Daniela did a quick fist pump at his recovery, scolding herself for ever doubting her brother.

Though still unmoving, the Ghost King increased his glare. "You are starting to annoy me." He said before a duplicate split off from himself and stood up from the chair while the original stayed seated.

" _He cloned himself?"_ Daniela thought in confusion at the king's tactics. _"He's a fool. Brother has an incredible advantage over ghosts and he just cut his own power in half. What is he thinking?"_

Junior must have been thinking something similar, for as he drew Dragonslayer back out he said "I believe it was your Fright Knight friend I left outside who warned me about the dangers of underestimating your opponent."

"And I say the same to you that you said to him." The standing Ghost King said in an even, calm tone. "I'm not."

Admiring the man's confidence, Junior held Dragonslayer up with both hands on its hilt. _"I only need to keep the main body around to get information from, so I'd better finish off the duplicate as soon as possible."_ Junior thought out his options, waiting to see if either ghost would make the first move. _"Given that he's probably the king of this place for a good reason, best not to get cocky and let him pull off any surprises with that clone of his."_

Junior's feet left the floor in a blink as he threw himself hurtling at blinding speed towards the standing Ghost King, sword pulled back and ready to cut him down.

" _Don't hold back any of the Demon Reaper strength."_ Junior told himself. _"End this in one blow!"_

Throwing all its weight forward, Junior brought his sword striking down at the Ghost King's head, to which the only action the ghost took to defend himself was to throw his arm up between the blade and his skull.

Dragonslayer connected with the Ghost King's forearm and proceeded to shatter like thick glass.

"WH-WHAT?!" Junior screamed, his wide eyes staring at the half of his sword connected to the hilt while the other half's scattered pieces littered themselves across the floor.

In Junior's stunned state he left himself wide open, allowing for the Ghost King to use his other hand and punch his fist straight through the Reaper's chest.

" _Junior!"_ Daniela wanted to scream as she watched blood erupt out from her brother's mouth and onto the floor, never having seen him take such a violent hit before. Not even against Lantern or the ragdoll samurai.

Foot against Junior's chest, the Ghost King kicked the Reaper's body off his arm, now covered in green Nergal blood and holding the Infi-Map in his hand. "I wondered what that strange ecto-energy I was sensing off you was." He commented, recognizing the scroll for what it was as Junior coughed and painfully picked himself off the ground. "So Kare sent you then? Hmm… Considering how angry I still am over what he did to Frostbite and his tribe, Kare must really not like you very much."

Junior wobbled to his feet, still a bit dazed from how unexpectedly powerful the ghost's blow was. As his Nergal flesh and natural Reaper powers healed the hole, with his hand clutching the area protectively, Junior, though in a noticeable bit of pain, couldn't help but find some humor in his situation. He hadn't put the Infi-Map inside the same pocket dimension as that which he kept his father's old journal and the journal Minnie had given to him because he didn't trust that HIM hadn't bewitched the item somehow. And now, since he hadn't kept the scroll inside that handy little dimension in his chest that only he could open up to, that was how the Ghost King even knew he had it in the first place. Hilarious.

Tossing the scroll behind him for the main body on the chair to catch, the Ghost King said to Junior "Your sword is destroyed. I'd suggest leaving so that you don't end up the same."

Taking one look back at the shattered remains of the blade that'd been by his side for so long, Junior glared hatefully at the Ghost King. "I'm never without a weapon!" He snarled as his Nergal flesh spawned forth a long, green-bladed scythe in each hand before Junior went on the attack again.

Though Junior slashed at him with a wild technique, the Ghost King's floating body, barely an inch off the ground, managed to duck and sidestep every one of the Reaper's attacks, all while keeping the same stoic look on his face. As Junior's hacks became more and more frustrated, the Ghost King blew his icy cold breath at Junior's arms, not only freezing his weapons solid but his hands as well. The ghost then took Junior by his wrists and slammed his hands together, causing them both to shatter.

Junior gave a quick howl of pain, the ends of his arms now just iced over stumps. But halfway through his screams, Junior kept his mouth wide open as his Nergal flesh took the form of a cannon inside his jaws, something that finally got a surprised reaction out of the Ghost King as he watched its barrel charge up from a point-blank range.

Violent green energy exploded from out of Junior's mouth and went straight through the Ghost King's head.

At least, that's what it'd looked like at first, until the blast ended and Junior's eyes went wide upon seeing that the Ghost King's head had split apart and twisted itself around the beam, allowing it pass by in the open space harmlessly.

The Ghost King's head returned back to its normal form. "My turn." He declared before taking in a big breath of air.

" _Wait…that move…!"_ Daniela gasped as she recognized the energy building up from the Ghost King's throat.

" _No! That's impossible! He can't know how to do that!"_ Junior yelled fearfully in his head. _"Only Dan and twins are able to do it!"_

The Ghost King opened his mouth wide and hit Junior with the full impact of his Ghostly Wail.

Thinking back, Dan had hit Junior with this same attack more times than he could even remember, and when it hit, it hit hard, thus why it was a favorite of his rival's. But this attack from the king…it was one an entirely different level. In just the first second the ultrasonic waves had stripped Junior down to the bone, his black demon flesh exploding horridly off his body and painting over half the throne room in his blood. Both of Daniela's hands were clasped over her mouth in complete horror as she watched her brother's bloody, bare-boned body fly across the room; his jaws wide open but his screams of agony unable to be heard over the Ghost King's Wail.

The attack finally came to an end. Junior was now lying on his ribcage on the throne room carpet, twitching as the stinging pain still lingered in his heavily cracked bones. His right eye and a few torn scraps of muscle were the only bits of flesh Junior had left on his body and he was lucky to have even that, no matter how much they still bled.

It was only due to the shadow casting over him that Junior could tell that the Ghost King had stepped forward to him, as his body was too destroyed for Junior to even crane his head up from the floor.

"How…?" Junior moaned hoarsely at the king, his handless stump trying to reach in vain for the ghost's feet. "How can you use that move?"

"I can use the Ghostly Wail because I'm the one who created it." The Ghost King answered him, his simple tone indicating that he knew this fight was over.

"Y-you? But then…that means that you're…"

The Ghost Knight cut off Junior's realization as he held his hand up over the Reaper's crippled body, his palm glowing brightly with ecto-energy. "You should have left when you had the chance, Junior." He stated coldly to him as he blasted down upon the Reaper.

If he had any strength left to do so, Junior would have clamped his sockets shut.

But before the blast would have connected, a swirling green portal opened up above Junior's body and swallowed up the beam in his place.

"What the-?" The Ghost King asked before the portal's other end opened up right in front of him and his own blast struck him square in the chest, knocking him back all the way to his throne.

Unable to comprehend what'd just happened, Junior soon found his answer as Daniela's now visible body stood over him protectively. "Stay away from him!" She screamed at the Ghost King as her portals closed up.

Sitting on the floor, the Ghost King rubbed the area on his chest he'd been struck, where, aside from a bit of smoke coming off him, was otherwise undamaged. "Hm. And who might you be?" He asked this new intruder.

Daniela's spine stiffened as the king addressed her but, swallowing in some air, she put herself into stance, ready to fight. Though as she did this Junior's twitches only became worse as he forcibly tried to get himself back up.

"Daniela? Daniela, what the hell do you think you're doing here?!" He screamed at her in both rage and fear as he could barely get his head off the ground, much less the rest of his body. "Get out of here now!"

Daniela breathed slowly as she stared at the rising Ghost King. "I cannot do that, Junior. Not if it would mean leaving you here."

"Daniela, this is no time to be a hero! Run! Leave! You don't have a chance against him! He will kill you!"

Daniela took in a gulp as she sweat. She was scared and it was very apparent. "I know." She admitted to him. "But if I don't stand and fight now, then no one else will. And regardless of whatever problems you're facing now that make you push the rest of us away…I don't want you to die, Junior. Not now…not ever."

"Daniela…please…" Junior begged, his tired mind flashing back to his childhood, the image of Daniela before him fading in and out with Minnie's as she stood between him and Oogie Boogie's machines.

The Ghost King folded his arms as he stared her down. "A ghost defending a Reaper? Never thought I'd see the day." He remarked offhandedly to her.

Daniela tensely readied herself for whatever attack may come. _"If he could take down Junior in one blow like that, then I clearly don't have a chance of beating him."_ She said to herself as she noted the Ghost King's defenses were full of openings, though that was true when he fought Junior too. _"But if I can keep him distracted, I might be able to split off a clone to keep fighting him while I portal Junior and myself out of here."_

"Please, ladies first." The Ghost King offered to her. "Or does your strategy rely solely on using my own strength against me?"

"Not entirely." Daniela remarked as she punched her fist through a new portal.

Daniela glowing knuckles emerged out from a portal at the side of the Ghost King's head. It was fairly simple move of ducking his head down to avoid the hit, but when he did the hand that missed him punched through another portal in its path, this time coming up out of the floor and pointing its blast of energy straight at the king's face. Shooting his eye wide open, the Ghost King created his own small portal right in front of his face, which sucked up the energy blast in his place. Daniela heard the other end of the king's portal open up behind her back and had only seconds to use her free hand to open up a new portal to catch the incoming blast. She succeeded and redirected the attack to the other side of the king's tilted head. And before the energy could hit him, the Ghost King opened up one final big portal beneath his feet which he fell in through and came back down from the ceiling, avoiding the entire thing.

Her trap escaped, Daniela pulled her hand back out of the multiple portals and closed them. "Not bad." The Ghost King complemented her as he touched back down, though his completely even tone made it hard for her to judge whether he was being serious or sarcastic. "But I hope you didn't think you were the only one who can create Ghost Zone Portals."

"I didn't." Daniela told him, nursing a small headache from the concentration required to open that many portals so rapidly. "But at least I'm confident I can use that skill more creatively than most."

Sensing it behind him, the Ghost King quickly turned and caught a slender arm in each hand as two Daniela duplicates appeared from two separate portals to attack him. Lifting them over his head the king smashed both clones into the floor, causing them to poof away in a flash of light from the damage.

But it wasn't over. The Ghost King knew what the real Daniela was up to the moment she started. Smacking his heel against the ground, a wave of cascading ice spread out from the impact spot and instantly froze the entire floor solid, including Junior, the ice overtaking his entire skeleton.

"No!" Daniela cried out, having nearly grabbed him and made her getaway through the portal back to the Domain of Death she'd created when the king's back was turned.

"You certainly are creative." The Ghost King told her as he turned to face her again, both him and Daniela floating above the icy floor. "But while you might be able to sense where the cracks in the Ghost Zone are, I can sense every portal that opens and closes inside this realm. My realm. I know where your portals lead the minute you open them. Sorry, but it's hard to be creative when your audience already knows the surprise."

" _Still…what she managed was impressive."_ The Ghost King remarked to himself as Daniela glared with a nervous sweat at him. _"Using her portals to attack me and defend against my rebound while also splitting off two invisible duplicates of herself to open their own portals behind me without getting noticed? That's not something one can just do. That takes incredible mental focus. Who is this girl?"_

That would have been the Ghost King's next question for her, but instead Daniela took the next word, yelling "I'm not out of options yet!" before splitting herself until there were five of her facing off against the king. The Ghost King raising an eyebrow at this tactic, the four clones opened up separate portals with both hands, creating a total of eight opening surrounding the Ghost King from different angles of the room. On her end of the portals, the real Daniela split off two more copies of herself and the three started throwing in as many blasts of energy as she could.

" _I see…"_ The Ghost King remarked to himself as the volley of random blasts came hurtling out around him. _"It doesn't matter that I know where and when the portals open up if there's too many to keep track off."_

Tapping his heel against the frozen floor, a large ice wall, just slightly wider than his own body, rose up above his head to protect his backside. With that done, the Ghost King's eyes were free to wander, opening up portals wherever he spotted a blast coming at him to send it right back at the clones. To their credit, though they were nowhere as skilled as him and thus still had to rely on their hands, the clones were still fast and had very good instincts; getting rid of their old portals and opening up new ones to intercept the hits each time, with the rebounds never hitting them once.

The minutes ticked by and soon the entire throne room looked like one incredibly dangerous game of dodgeball, with the energy blasts being passed back and forth between both sides until they dissipated and the main Daniela and her two side clones threw more back in.

"I stand corrected. Your portal skills are actually quite impressive." The Ghost King complemented honestly as his eyes threw back another few volleys. "But your energy blast leave much to be desired. They are a bit too…year one. Tell me, child: can you do _this_ yet?"

Instead of creating another portal, the Ghost King's eyes blasted out two powerful and very fast green beams of energy at one of Daniela's right hand clones. The clone quickly opened up a new portal to intercept the attack but before they would have gone in the beams made a complete ninety degree turn to the left.

"What?!" Multiple Daniela's yelled out as the eyebeams cut through the chest of a clone other than the one they'd originally been aimed for, causing the clone to explode away into light as it died. And the assault didn't end there, as the beams continued their twisting path, bending at unnatural angles to reach and cut through all of Daniela's clones until the real one was left all on her own with a nest of twisted lasers surrounding her.

When the Ghost King blinked, the wall of green energy faded away and Daniela collapsed to her knees, complete freaked by the sudden crushing turn. "H-how…?"

"Years of practice and training. Which you, unfortunately, no longer have time for." The Ghost King stated as he raised his glowing palm to her.

Daniela's hands sweat profusely against the ice of the floor. Her heart pounded in her chest harder than she could ever remember it doing before. Even against Lantern Daniela didn't think she'd felt this level of just pure fear. Felt this much of an overwhelming gap between her and her opponent's power. She couldn't see any way she could win this.

Daniela looked over at the iced over lump in the floor, where underneath Junior laid frozen. If it wasn't a complete freeze, then there was a chance he was still healing under there, but with how much damage he'd taken from the Ghost King's Ghostly Wail, either way Junior was unlikely to come to her rescue anytime soon.

" _But you still wouldn't give up, would you, Junior?"_ Daniela thought out to him. _"You'd pull out some new incredible power to beat him down, like you did against Pandora's army, or hit him with an ability he wouldn't see coming and make it work, like when we phased through Lantern's armor. You'd still keep fighting, wouldn't you? Until all your tricks were gone."_

As the cold from the icy floor started to pass through her boots and numb her knees, Daniela realized something. _"…And I still have one trick left, don't I? One this opponent certainly shouldn't see coming, though that's probably because there's so little chance of it even working most wouldn't even bother. But…it's not like I have anything left to lose at this point by trying."_

Two more clones split off from Daniela while her main body stayed kneeling on the ground, much to the Ghost King's surprise. "You're still going to fight?" He asked, his tone heavily questioning Daniela's decision as the clones stood stubbornly between him and her.

"Yes. I am." The real Daniela stated through her exhausted pants. "Because I don't see any reason to quit now."

The clones rushed the Ghost King, one opening up a portal to attack him from behind while the other kept going for his front. Daniela didn't kid herself. These duplicates were only going to last a few seconds against the other ghost. A minute at most. The Ghost King was still going at near full strength and she had already been dangerously low on energy and stamina after losing so many clones when she divided it further between her and these final two. But she had to risk it and pin her hopes on this final, desperate move.

The cold of the floor helped her remember it better. That feeling of intense cold that'd enveloped her core when she thought the Martian Reaper was going to kill her. She touched her fingertips together, forming a sphere with her hands as she closed her eyes and tried to visualize that sensation again. Tried to will herself to feel that icy numbness again that'd overtaken her body before so rapidly.

By some unimaginable miracle, so extraordinary that Daniela first thought for certain that she was just deluding herself out of desperation, that remembered feeling of cold started to fill her chest in reality.

It felt just as it had before, with the intense feeling moving from her core and through her arms, down to her hands where it waited, ready to be released. But unlike with Morg, Daniela did not unleash the cold right away, instead letting its intensity build up in her palms, growing stronger and stronger with each pulse of her heart.

The Ghost King finished off the last of the two clones with a blast through its chest. He thought nothing off it but then he noticed that now his breath was completely visible; the room having grown colder than it already was. Turning around quickly to face the true Daniela, he saw the swirling white vortex twisting powerfully between the girl's hands, the cold energy having built up to its max until it had nowhere to go but out.

"Freeze, you fucker." Daniela uttered defiantly as her glaring red eyes momentarily glowed blue.

When she set the power free, it was not a torrent like it was last time but a full blown tidal wave of raw cold energy that flooded the room, covering every inch of it with thick white and blue ice. Even the Ghost King's true body that sat upon his throne had his eyes shot wide open from just the sheer power of it before he and his duplicate were completely frozen over.

When there was no more cold left to pump out, Daniela's onslaught ended and she collapsed to her hands, hacking and coughing harshly with her spit hitting the floor.

"I…I did it." She said with a weak smile when the fit finally stopped. "I called upon the power at will."

The room around her was completely unrecognizable from what it'd been before. Thick ice and frost covering the red of the walls completely and with large frozen mounds of both the Ghost King's throne and his duplicate being the only disturbances in the uniformly frozen floors.

Daniela took the small moment of rest she was now awarded in the still environment, knowing she desperately needed it. "I don't know if I can phase through my own ice or not." Daniela remarked to herself as she looked over towards the area where she was pretty sure Junior was buried underneath all the ice. "I might have to get mother and father's help to free you, Junior. But as long as the ice holds and they know you're here, I don't think there will be much problem in getting them to-"

"Not bad." The Ghost King's voice echoed in the icy chamber, causing Daniela to almost scream. "No…not bad at all. Especially for what seems to be a novice. But…" He added on.

At first Daniela thought the next sound she heard was of the ice cracking, only to realize that was not quite the case. The ice was not breaking, no. That creaking, squeaking noise filling the floor and her ears was due to the ice moving! The ice and frost started trailing slowly off the walls and the floor before it then rapidly changing into a tornado of furious snow, moving so fast Daniela had to shield her eyes. All the paths of the twisting cold converged on the same location: the palm of the Ghost King, still sitting upon his throne with his duplicate faded away.

"…Ice, against a man with ice powers? Not the best plan. Not even for a plan of last ditch effort." He finished his speech as the flow of snow ended and calm returned, leaving a near transparent ball of cool blue cold energy spinning gently in his hand as not a trace of ice was left anywhere in the room.

Daniela couldn't even move anymore. What moves were there left to make?

"I'm sorry, child," The Ghost King said evenly as the ball changed from blue to bright glowing green. "But you lose."

The Ghost King threw the ball and it blasted Daniela in the chest before she could even blink. The force of its explosive impact sent her sailing through the throne room's twin doors and down the center of the castle's spiral staircase, her body harshly cracking against the walls and the steps until it finally came to an abrupt end several feet down on the bottom of the first floor.

It must have just been by pure instinct that she managed to do what she did, as Daniela certainly didn't feel conscious when she rose her broken, bleeding, slab of beaten meat she called a body up from the ground. Her legs wobbled heavily under the slightest bit of her weight, as she had no more energy left to fly or even float.

Her ringing ears hearing the rustle of a cape and her tired, near empty eyes looked up just high enough to see the Ghost King descending gently down to her, finally having left his chair.

With her enemy standing right in front of her, Daniela's stiff fingers curled up into a fist and she raised her arm up to throw it at him. But instead, all that happened was the long battle finally catching up to her and Daniela collapsed down onto the floor by the king's feet.

The Ghost King powered up his ecto-blast, reminding himself he probably still had to deal with his other intruder upstairs once he was done with her.

The white halo ring appeared around Daniela's waist and then split off into two as they traveled across her body, returning the teen back to her black-haired human form.

The green glow of the Ghost King's hand instantly broke apart from shock.

"You're…half human?!" He uttered with great alarm, easily being the most true emotion he'd shown since the two had come for him.

* * *

 _Dan stood across the wide gap from him, the ghost's face smiling widely as the flames of freeing power blazed off Junior's body._

" _There you are." Dan said excitedly, cracking his knuckles as his own power practically choked the air around him._

 _If he'd ever had a heart in this body of his, Junior could only imagine how hard its blood would be pounding in his ears right now._

" _ **You wanted me mad, Dan?"**_ _Junior asked, barely able to contain himself either._ _ **"Fine. I'm MAD!"**_

 _The instant Junior's foot left the ground and he and Dan had already closed the wide distance between them, their fists colliding._

Junior awoke with a groan, his body feeling sorer than it had in a long time. Picking himself off the floor and noticing the now empty padded chair across the room from him, Junior's thoughts started to come back to him.

" _That's right… I was fighting the Ghost King. And he hit me with an attack that completely blew me apart."_ He recalled as he checked his body. Aside from a few scattered patches of bare bone, his Nergal flesh had thankfully mostly regenerated itself while he'd been out, even growing him a new oddly wet hoodie and a pair of pants. As Junior tried to recall more, _"He was about to finish me off… But he was stopped by… Daniela!"_

Junior suddenly bolted to attention, stretching his Reaper senses out as far as they'd go to find Daniela's soul. The echoes of her battle with the Ghost King lingered all over the room, but the second he felt the ping of her familiar essence, Junior bolted out the doors after her.

Leaping off the edge of the spiral staircase and falling down its center, Junior spotted Daniela down at the very bottom floor, alive but out cold and being carried in the arms of the Ghost King.

"YOU GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" Junior roared as a scythe spawned in his hand just in time to swing its blade at the ghost.

But turning quickly, the Ghost King opened up a portal above himself, in which the falling Reaper couldn't stop himself from going into.

The bright sun almost blinded Junior as he was rudely spat out of the portal's other end before it closed behind him. He'd been dumped out onto the front lawn of a pristine white brick and red tiled roof castle, which on its front bore the image of the land's former princess, now queen.

Hearing the repeated thumps of a metal wrench against a gloved hand, Junior turned around and found two beefy, moustached plumbers standing behind him, one dressed in red and the other in green.

"I-a warned you what would-a happen if ya came aback ahere-a." Mario glared at him threateningly as his brother adjusted his overalls in an intimidating manner.

After his fist sent the large Italian man sailing over one of the lands many mountains (the mountain's eyes watching Mario as he flew past), Junior used his scythe to rip open a portal back to the Ghost Zone and he leaped in through.

But when Junior came out the other end, he did not land back on the floors of Pariah's Keep. In fact, there was no Pariah's Keep around him, as the portal spat Junior out into the wide open green skies of the Ghost Zone; the Reaper quickly sprouting his wings to keep himself afloat.

"What? No, no, I'm sure this is the right place." Junior looked around in a panic, searching everywhere in sight but with the castle nowhere to be seen. "This is where the Ghost King's portal opened up! I know it is!"

Looking around at the nearby floating islands, Junior could see the burn marks on their surface from when he'd fought the Fright Knight's dragon-horse previously. This was indeed the right place. And with his Reaper senses not picking up either Daniela's or the Ghost King's souls, or the Fright Knight's and his soldiers' for that matter, that meant only one thing.

The Ghost King had moved Pariah's Keep to somewhere else in the Ghost Zone.

And without the Infi-Map to show him where it'd gone…

"DANIELA!"

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** You know, with how much shit I put Junior through in my _Empire of Death_ story, I wondered if anyone would ever think I hated Junior and liked putting him in misery. Now I kind of wonder the same about Daniela, considering this isn't the first time she's gotten beat up in this story.

In case I wrote it confusingly, Junior only left the castle a few days ago, but Daniela has been training for a week since she left herself. Meaning that Clockwork's portal didn't just send her to Pariah's Keep but slightly back in time as well.

On another note, to be clear, Junior is not immune to fear-based weaponry. He just has a resistance to it. Something like the Scarecrow's fear toxin wouldn't have much of an effect because of his biology and something like Fright Knight's Soul Shredder doesn't do him much harm because he's too used to higher level scares than it can create, thanks to his uncle Jack. Something like Horror's Hand or one of the Greek Gods of fear would still affect him greatly.

The Ghost King, most of you have probably guessed who he is (I'm annoyingly vague but not very subtle) but his identity will be confirmed next chapter regardless.

And yes, the Ghost King's bending eye lasers were inspired by Darkseid (though I feel like there was one ghost in the show that could do that too. Maybe I'm misremembering).

* * *

 **QTP:** Why did Clockwork send Daniela to the Ghost King's castle, especially a few days back in time to it? Why did the Ghost King know who Junior was but not Daniela? What did Junior's dream/vision of Dan mean? How will Junior find Pariah's Keep again without the Infi-Map? And will the Fright Knight ever get that meeting with Jack Skellington Junior promised him?


	17. Fear and Rage of the Unknown

**Part 17: Fear and Rage of the Unknown**

 **DPSS:** Thankfully I am planning on Junior having a much bigger fight in a few chapters, where holding back isn't going to be much of an option for him.

1.) That, among other reasons.

2.) Correct.

3.) Perhaps.

4.) I will say that one of those three guesses is correct.

5.) If he has the time.

 **desdelor97:** Thank you.

 **nightmaster000:** Glad you liked it, and I will try to answer some of the Danny/Dan related questions as the story goes on.

1.) As he's known to do.

2.) Let's just say there's a reason he'd be paying attention to Junior's birth in particular.

3.) Yep.

4.) Heh heh heh heh…(maniacal laugh…)

5.) His favorite Christmas was the one that Jack took over.

 **Coldblue:** Glad you liked the chapter. Would you be upset to know that I'd always planned on Dragonslayer being destroyed due to Junior fighting a very powerful enemy? The candidates for who were between the God of Magic, Dan, and the Ghost King and this just felt like one of the most appropriate times for Junior to lose one of the crutches he's been leaning on so that he wouldn't have to use his real power.

1.) I will say that Clockwork is using Daniela to aid Junior's future, as well as her own, as there are far worse things Junior believes he could do than just dying.

2.) It is more just that Junior is more well known to the general public of the Underworld. Not to mention there is a reason why the Ghost King would pay more attention to Junior's birth than Mandy's other kids'.

3.) I'm certainly hoping it'll be their biggest battle yet, given how much collateral damage I'm planning on their clash to cause.

4.) I'm a bit upset that I actually forgot about Wulf, as that is a good idea. Been a while since I've read _Bleac_ h but I'll have to remember Reiraku and Soul Ribbons for future use, as someday I'll probably make a story involving Grim and Junior unlocking more of Death's abilities that were sealed away due to how much damage Grim's father caused during his time as the Grim Reaper.

5.) Eventually.

Now for your questions:

 _Any chance for "Grim Tales: Oneshot Collection" we could have Grim Junior accidently or intentional have sex with his Aunt Sally, Jack Skellington wife?_

This is one of the odd lemon suggestions I'm actually not sure how to answer. A character and their aunt? That's a lemon I can get behind. However, when I started doing lemon, there were two things I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to writing lemons about: _Steven Universe_ and _The Nightmare Before Christmas_. Both for the same reason, honestly. While both can get quite dark and can still have a cynical sense of humor, there is still this sense of innocence to them that I'm not sure I'm ready to taint yet in my mind by imagining their characters having sex. That said, I suppose this Junior X Sally suggestion could be a good way to build myself up into it, so we will see what happens.

 _What will happen if Grim Junior uses Devil Essence power? Furthermore; what would happen if Grim Junior mixed his Nergal, Reaper, Ghost Rider, Devil Essence and possibly Ectoplasm all together?_

Can't give away too much yet about the Devil's Essence impact on Junior, as that will be a major part of the story going-on. But as for the powers he has mixing, I will be giving a good taste of that in Junior next big fight (not in this chapter), but I will say that just because Junior's powers are mixed doesn't mean that his mixed form is his most powerful.

To help explain myself, there's a reason why Junior Ghost Rider Layer 3 form is a burning skeleton. With the exception of his right eye and basically what he stores away within the marrow of his bones, all of Junior's Nergal flesh is transformed into hellfire, meaning his can't use his shapeshifting abilities as easily anymore in that form. Thus why Junior was using mostly chains and fire when fighting against Pandora's monsters. Every ability and form Junior gains gives him new powers but they also all come with their own technical weaknesses. The Ghost Rider form can't fight using many of his Nergal powers. His giant Demon Reaper Beast form takes time to create and its size means it moves very slow. If he used just the Devil Essence form he has hidden away, Junior's problem would be that he wouldn't be able to control himself. That's why Junior always stays in his basic Demon Reaper form, as it's the most balanced and gives him the most options while fighting.

Another example is the ectoplasmic powers Junior's picked up. Like he told Daniela back in chapter nine, things like ecto-blasts and invisibility are easy for him to do because they're similar to things he can already do thanks to his Reaper and Nergal powers. But it's near impossible for him to phase through objects on his own because he is a Reaper. That particular power is completely incompatible with one of his forms. And like HIM said, Junior got the Ghost Rider power to help him deal better against the Devil's Essence, so unless the Red completely corrupts the Rider's power, using both at the same time would actually cause Junior a lot of pain from the two powers warring it out inside him.

That's just my basic mentality on how Junior's power stacking works In truth he only needs a few certain abilities of his to be unstoppable but mixing together too many can actually make him weaker.

 _Can you give some me a Summary of two or three Original Characters you are developing? What type of OC would they be in a story you write/develop?_

I'll put these down at the bottom below the QTP like you asked.

 **Kelly Fiction:** To answer your questions:

1.) It's something I've meant to address but just never got around to. Basically it's like what Nail told Piccolo in _Dragon Ball Z Abridged_ , where he eventually just faded away into his subconscious and became a part of him (only in this case, the fade actually happened. I don't want Nail or Kami going anywhere).

2.) Can't say anything yet about Grim's thought on Junior's Oedipus complex because it'll be addressed later in the story, but Grim has the same basic thoughts as his wife does on Junior and Minnie being together: don't get pregnant and we won't care. Basically, my reasons for being against real life incest is that children born from incest are often very genetically messed up, thus incest is harmful in this case. Mandy and Grim wouldn't want their grandchildren to be malformed or suffering so obviously they wouldn't want Minnie to be impregnated by her brother. But if Junior and Minnie were to get married and adopt, their parents wouldn't have a problem with that. Heck, Mandy might prefer Junior and Minnie being together, as it lowers the risk of someone unworthy trying to muscle their way into the royal family she's built.

3.) Eh, it's hard to say honestly. I have the ending basically planned out but how bittersweet it is will honestly depend on your personal viewpoint, as a lot of shit is going to hit the fan before this is over.

4.) The only one of his children he's ever really resented was Minnie at first. Unlike with Junior, Minnie's birth father was always around so it was harder for Grim to consider Minnie his child. He did eventually get over it, especially after Minnie's death and resurrection, and by the time the twins came around, Grim was more accepting, especially since it was clear he didn't have to worry about Dan showing him up. Though since Junior is a Reaper like him, Grim has the easiest time thinking of him as his child in comparison to the others.

For your suggestions:

1.) I think that's a fine idea for a story. One alternate universe story I want to do someday is one where Junior becomes a villain, one like HIM or _Dragon Ball Z Abridged_ Frieza. So Junior facing off against his father as an enemy would be almost a sure thing.

2.) Doesn't she already do that? I'm pretty sure I remember in Afterbirth where she spoke normally to the Boogieman but told Drax to cram it when he wouldn't stop hitting on her.

3.) I don't have a problem with this kind of story. It's the same logic for why one of my first oneshots was about Grim and Minnie.

4.) I can see Jeff being an accidental traitor. Not much information is known yet about who the Megaville traitor was or why, so I see no reason why Jeff can't be a suspect.

And finally, for your answers:

1.) Unfold in a way other than they originally did.

2.) Correct, save maybe for the Daniela stuff.

3.) Yep. Though Junior can see the future, he can take steps to avoid what he's seen, thus why he left home in the first place all those years ago.

4.) If Dan hadn't met Boogie, the bloodrage certainly would have been a possibility.

5.) Shame too. I bet Fright Knight would have loved for Jack to autograph his sword.

 **DarkDremora:** Glad you liked it. Sakura was one of the path options I'd considered for Daniela to take, but even if and when she gets more power, I don't see her as a very close combat fighter like Sakura is. I think Daniela would be more naturally suited for long range fighting, keeping her opponent at a distance so they can't fight back while she just hammers at them.

1.) Correct, especially on the last point.

2.) Correct.

3.) Pretty accurate to what I'm planning on having happen.

4.) Honestly, I hadn't considered this option. It's a good idea and I probably would have used it if I hadn't thought of this chapter first.

5.) Probably.

 **AMTT94:** To answer your question, in my mind for how the Ghost Zone works, whoever is the Ghost King (basically whoever can handle the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage) is the true ruler of the realm. However, after Pariah Dark was locked away, the Ghost Zone had no ruler. No one to maintain order. Thus Warden Walker stepped up and took control by creating his prison. He made such a name for himself and is such an authority in the Ghost Zone that the other realms recognize him as the Ghost Zone's ruler. However, Walker knows he is no match for the Ghost King, thus why he didn't bother fighting Pariah when Vlad accidentally freed him in _Reign Storm_ and just waited until Danny locked him back up before going back to managing his prison. Now there is a new Ghost King but he doesn't bother with Walker that often, as he just wants to be left alone, as I'll try to address later. But basically, the Ghost King is the rightful ruler of the Ghost Zone but Walker is considered the ruler by many because this new king has not really revealed himself to that many outside of the Ghost Zone.

 **Yinyang2017:** It's alright. I was just wondering. Sorry if I was being a bit rude in my question.

 **Guest:** Unfortunately, I have not. I don't play that many video games anymore.

 **Brandon Storm:** 1.) That, or the other way around.

2.) Correct.

3.) Correct.

4.) That part is a bit debatable.

5.) Probably.

 **Guest:** In the actual comics, it's hard to say, as there is still so much left to get out of his character. Though I do agree that it'd be most appropriate for Mimi to be the one that kills him.

 **Guest:** Thank you.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

Daniela's mind stirred its way back into consciousness, her face wincing at her body's incredible soreness.

For some reason, Daniela couldn't move her arms or legs, or at least not very far. Her eyes gently blinked open to see what was wrong but when she did she found the Ghost King's gloved hand hovering over her face, the ecto-energy flowing through it lighting the entire room green.

"Do. Not. Move." He warned her as his dark figure stood over her bedside, his implied threat very clear. "You are going to answer my questions, and if you lie, you die. Is that understood?"

Daniela's eyes were wide with fear and she quickly nodded her head; the only part of her body that she could move. She was lying on what appeared to be a normal bed inside Pariah's Keep but her arms, legs, and torso were completely bound by some kind of ecto-energy rope constructs. Likely another power the Ghost King had that she'd never seen before.

"Who created you?" The Ghost King asked his question.

Daniela stared at his scowling face in confusion. "Wh-what? I don't understand what you're asking."

"Who created you?" The Ghost repeated, this time with much less patience in his voice. "You are half-human and half-ghosts and I want to know who made you like this."

"What are you talking about? No one made me like this. I was born with my ghost pow-AHH!" Daniela screamed as the Ghost King slid his searing hot finger across her cheek, burning her human flesh as he went.

"Do. NOT. Lie to me." The Ghost King warned her, his words partially consumed by his heavy angry breaths. "Who created you?"

"No one created me! What do you want me to-AHH!" Daniela screamed again as the Ghost burned a line through her other cheek as well.

"Who created you?!" The Ghost King demanded, his patience clearly nearing its end. "Was it Plasmius? The Guys In White? Who?!"

"No one created me! My mother is human and my father was a ghost! I was born like this!"

The Ghost King's fist slammed against the bedspread, causing Daniela to nearly jump out were it not for her bounds. "NOBODY IS BORN HALF-GHOST!" He hollered at her. "IT! IS! IMPOSSIBLE! NOW STOP LYING! WHO MADE YOU?!"

"I'm not lying!" Daniela screamed at him, fearful tears starting to run from her eyes.

"WHO MADE YOU?!"

"No one made me! What do you want me to say?!" Daniela practically begged as she was so afraid she started to cry.

The Ghost King's hand grabbed Daniela's throat, his hot fingers burning her skin as he choked her. "WHO MADE YOU?!" He screamed, his face insane with rage.

As the ghost's hand choked the air from her lungs, Daniela gasped heavily to grab whatever bits of oxygen that she could. "My mother…Queen Mandy…! My father…a ghost named…named Dan Phant-Phant-om…!"

Daniela felt the king's grip on her throat loosen. "Mandy?" He uttered, his surprise at the name shocking the king back to his senses.

The Ghost King released his hand from the girl's throat, causing Daniela to hack and hoarsely cough in a most horrible manner as her lungs desperately took in as much air as they could, while the Ghost King turned and walked a few feet away from the bed, lost in his thoughts.

"Of all people, why would she…?" Daniela managed to hear him mumble to himself over her final tearful sobs. "If there was any woman who could, I suppose it would be her… But why me? Or at least, why Dan? Is she just trying to piss him off after all these years…? She knows he's watching…"

As the Ghost King continued his near incoherent ramblings, Daniela shook herself out of her shamefully afraid state and focused her attentions on getting free. Thankfully, the answer for how came almost instantly, as after the big blast she created earlier Daniela was now able to feel the cold generating in her core far more easily now. And as she relaxed herself and let it flow, the bare touch of her body on the binding energy constructs caused them to rapidly freeze over, turning the ropes into ice.

The Ghost King was alerted by the sound of shattering shards and when he turned around his hands were both blasted by two beams of ice that stuck them to the wall.

Daniela leapt off the bed and changed back into her ghost form while her hands glowed blue with their built-up cold energy. "What do you know about the God of Magic?"

After getting over the initial shock the Ghost King's face twisted back into rage. "Are you kidding me?!" He yelled as he effortlessly ripped his hands free from their icy holds on the wall. "You have the chance to try and escape and instead you ask me that question?!"

" _He's not wrong."_ Daniela remarked to herself but stood her ground regardless. "If that information was important enough for my brother to come all the way out here to get, then it's important enough for me too. Now what do you know?"

"You are in no position to make demands!" The Ghost King declared as he blasted at her with a beam from his palm.

Reacting out of survival instinct, Daniela threw her hands up to create an ecto-shield to defend herself. But what came out instead was a wave of incredibly cold air.

At first this caused Daniela to panic, thinking the ecto-blast was going to hit her. But when the beam entered into the cold dome of air around her, the blast instantly froze over and fell to the ground with a stiff clunk; the violent green energies trapped inside an almost log-shaped prison.

"N-not what I m-meant to do," Daniela shivered as she admired her accidental work. "But at l-least I'm g-g-getting pretty good at t-this power."

"Not good enough." The Ghost King stated from behind her, having moved around her faster than Daniela's eyes could keep up with.

The glow of his eyes told her that he was about to launch the same twisting lasers that'd annihilated all her clones. With only seconds to spare and her dome of cold clearly not effecting the king, Daniela grabbed the frozen energy blast and threw it like a club at the eyebeams. The blasts cut through the ice easily, but the moment they struck the energy inside the resulting explosion sent Daniela flying across the room before smacking into the wall and onto the floor. The Ghost King was unmoved by the blast, still standing like a statue where he was, the only damage to his person being that the front of his shirt was completely burned away.

"Hrm." The Ghost King grunted in apathy at his bare, singed chest before his clothing instantly started to regrow itself; the black fabric repairing to the point that the shirt was almost better looking than it'd been before, or at least less faded and old.

Daniela was faring less well, with her sore limbs barely about to pick her back up and her body unable to stop its now constant shivering. The moment her fingers touched upon the wall to regain her balance, ice crystals and frost started to travel across the wall's length from that starting point and at the soles of her feet icicles started to form around her boots. All of this was most certainly of concern, but it was the Ghost King whom still had the focus of Daniela's attention, especially once she saw what was imprinted on the center of his repaired shirt: a pristine white D that she'd recently seen on someone else's chest.

"T-that…that emblem!" She said, trying to point but unable to take her arms away from rubbing her sides in an attempt to warm up. "It's…it is t-the s-same as the o-one my f-f-f-father wears!"

"Yeah, how about that?" The Ghost King remarked uncaringly as he noticed the icicles starting to hang down from Daniela's bangs and her skin starting to turn to a shade of light blue.

Still though, Daniela persisted. "Wh-what does t-that symbol mean?" She demanded to know as the ice crystals started to form around her clothing. "What is…w-what is your c-c-connection to Dan P-Phantom?"

The Ghost King did not say anything back to her and instead simply watched and waited as the teenage girl's body became even more covered in crystals of ice and frost, to the point where Daniela's stiff limbs caused her to fall over onto her side on the ground.

"What…what's happening to me…?" She asked weakly as the touch of her body against the brick floor dropped its temperature by several degrees and caused the small area to start icing over as well.

"Guess I was right in you being a newbie to this power." The Ghost King commented as he walked on and stood over Daniela's rapidly freezing body. "You released too much cold energy with that blast of yours back in the throne room and since your body isn't used to this new power yet, your core is overcompensating with how much energy it's regenerating. It's actually a similar problem I faced when I first got this ability, where the power built-up faster than I could release it and I started freezing everything around me without meaning to. I'm sure Dan actually would have loved being able to do that if he'd ever developed the power but I guess there was just too much of Vlad in him."

Daniela eyes slowly shifted to look up at the king, as the rest of her was too stiff and cold to move. "Who…are…?"

The Ghost King knelt down to her. "You want to know my connection to your father? Or more accurately, his connection to me, since I actually belong here and he doesn't." He said to her in a contemplating tone. "That particular story starts with a time-faring ghost named Clockwork, who wanted to teach me a lesson about unintended consequences."

" _Clockwork? That name…why does it sound familiar?"_ Daniela asked herself, recalling the name but not the very brief encounter.

"Your father, Dan, is the consequence that never happened because of the second chance Clockwork gave me." The Ghost King continued. "His is the future that I was able to prevent myself from becoming. Though that doesn't stop Clockwork from letting him still run wild around this timeline just because of some stupid deal he made with him." He added bitterly. "After all that damn trouble we went through to capture him in the first place."

If her eyelids were not mostly frozen in place, the realization that hit Daniela would have made them as wide open as possible. "…future you prevented yourself from becoming…? But then…that means that he's your…that you are…"

The Ghost King stood back up, the speeding D emblem upon his chest seeming all the more pronounced now. "I am Dan Phantom." He declared to her. "But back in day, before this crown, before even your father, most called me Danny. A secret I'm sure I won't have to worry about you spreading."

He turned to leave. Give it another few minutes and Daniela's body will be completely frozen through by her own power. It was unlikely to kill the girl, he justified to himself as he walked away from her helpless form. The ice was more likely to just put Daniela into a deep hibernation state where she wouldn't even be aware of the time passing around her. Sure, if the ice was not properly melted away it could result in her body being incredibly brittle but his powers could get rid of the ice anytime he wanted so that was no big deal, right?

The ghost's hand held the door handle but hesitated to turn it. _"You're not a hero anymore."_ He reminded himself as he kept his back deliberately facing Daniela. _"You became the Ghost King to get away from all that, remember? And a king… A king doesn't help those against him…"_

Still, Danny hesitated to turn the knob and stood there for longer than realized in silence.

But the moment just before he would have completely made up his mind, the Ghost King sensed an attack coming and dodged out of the way just before a beam of cold energy blasted the door and froze it solid with a thick layer of ice. Turning quickly back around and Danny saw Daniela had risen back to her feet; ice shards breaking away from her body in her movement and falling down into her icy outline on the floor.

"You said that my core is overcompensating with how much energy it's regenerating? That the cold is building up faster than I can release it?" Daniela panted as fog drifted off her pointed palm from the previous blast. "In that case, the answer is simple then, yes? I just have to release more cold faster than I have been."

As her shivering became more under control and she pointed her other hand at him, Danny looked upon the ghost girl with subtle amazement. "You're really going to keep fighting me? After I've already shown you the vast difference between our powers and skills?" He asked her evenly.

Though her blue-tinted, below-zero degrees' skin made it impossible to sweat, the Ghost King could tell that Daniela was fighting back her own fear as she defiantly nodded her head to him. "It's what Junior and Minnie would do." She said, some strength coming back to her as she said those words.

* * *

Eltros Walker had been filling out paperwork in his office when the prison alarms started blaring, their deafening tones filling his eardrums. He was quick to slide his one-eyed mask back over his face and place his grey hat back over his head as he walked out, as even during or especially during a riot, as his father would say. It was important to keep up the appearance of calm and collected power and a riot this most certainly was to be. There was never any other reason these damn things went off.

Taking bets in his head as to whether it was Vortex or Undergrowth kicking up a fuss in their cells that started the riot, Eltros flew across the verifiable city that was the Ghost Zone's most secure (and only) prison. The armored guards were already fast at work rounding up the many prisoners attempting to escape past the prison's iron walls and thus he did not bother with them, instead continuing his path towards the city's main penitentiary, where a giant smoking hole had been blown through its side.

The moment Eltros landed inside he knew something was off. For starters, there were no guards stationed anywhere in this hallway. One might think that was obviously because they were all off chasing the prisoners, but the prisoners of this building were still here. The ghost criminals still locked securely inside their cells and in fact curled up in absolute terror as far away from the bars as possible.

The second thing that concerned him? The purple rubble that littered the hall. It shouldn't be there, or at least not as much. If this was a break-OUT, then the wall's remains should be outside the building.

Someone had smashed their way into the prison.

As Eltros inspected the cells for any further insight, the sudden quick rumble of the entire building nearly knocked him off his feet.

" **WALKEEEEEERRR!"** Eltros heard from elsewhere on the same floor, the voice deeply demonic in its guttural tones and clearly filled with incredible rage.

Eltros broke into a run, his black cape flapping behind him as he raced to find where that voice had come from. Finally, after about a minute of his continuous sprint, the second-in-command warden heard the familiar sounds of his guards' blasters and energy whips further ahead, around an upcoming corner.

However, as he got closer three of the prison guards locked in the apparent firefight made a break for it around the same corner, the ghosts spotting Eltros up ahead of them. They started frantically pleading for his help all at once just seconds before the three were impaled through the chests by a mass of green-bladed chains. As Eltros stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of it, the chains dragged the guards away back around the corner, with their screams being silenced soon after.

Eltros stood where he was, frozen in his state of alarm and only forced back into motion again by the BOOM of shattering brick.

Fighting his instincts, the young Walker peered around the corner, catching sight just in time as a large black creature with a long, bladed, almost alien-like tail crawled its way up the hole in the ceiling it'd made; the guards that'd been fighting it nowhere to be seen.

" _What…what the hell was that?!"_ Eltros asked fearfully, hesitating to go near the hole in case the creature was waiting above it. _"It clearly wasn't a ghost. Was it some kind of demon? Was it what roared my father's name earlier? Wait… Father and Bullet were overseeing the Box Ghost's transfer personally! They're still in the building!"_

Flying as fast up the hole as he could, his hands ready to blast whatever may come at him, Eltros's path came to an end at the top floor, where he found both Bullet and the muscular Box Ghost with their torsos embedded in the wall, with the sounds of a fierce battle raging inside the torn open interrogation room nearby.

Running at the noise, Eltros entered into the gaping hole just in time to watch his father, Warden Walker, be slammed hard into the side wall by the hooded black creature, spikes trailing from its back all the way down to its threateningly rising tail.

" **Where is Pariah's Keep?!"** The monster roared into the warden's face as its hand held him to the wall. **"Where did it go?!"**

With the amount of green goopy blood trailing down Walker's jaw, it was clear his short battle with the creature had left him heavily injured. "Junior…! What are you doing…?!" He asked, choking on his words as he spoke. "I've hired you for jobs in the past! Why are you attacking-!"

Junior drove the claws of his free hand into Walker's stomach, getting the ghost to scream as his bladed claws were the only thing hold back the pressing fountain of blood.

" **Pariah's Keep! Where?!"** Junior demanded again. **"You have this realm under constant surveillance and lockdown! There's no way part of it just vanishes and reappears somewhere else without you knowing about it!"**

A ray of sliver ecto-energy struck the side of Junior's head. "Get away from my father!" Eltros yelled, throwing another blast.

"Eltros, no!" Walker cried out but too late. The second blast hit Junior, doing as little damage as the first one but still getting the Reaper's attention, as he snarled like an animal before releasing his grip on the warden and leaping on all fours at Eltros.

For the next few seconds all that Eltros could see in his world were shining metal claws and blazing red eyes, before finally the worst pain in the ghost's afterlife was introduced to him as Junior's teeth sank into his arm, getting their hooks in before Junior pulled his head back and tore the limb right off.

"ELTROS!" Walker screamed from where his wounded body laid on the floor as he watched Junior maul his son like a rabid dog.

Thankfully or not, even in his fierce state of mind Junior stopped himself just short of landing the finishing blow, standing himself over Eltros's twitching and rapidly breathing body as the ghost's inhuman blood leaked out of him from his many open slashes. Kneeling down, Junior placed his claws along the top of Eltros's scalp, pressing down on his skin through his flame blue hair. **"Last chance, Walker."** Junior warned him, practically foaming at the mouth. **"Where is it?!"**

Walker looked into his son's terrified fading eye from behind the boy's mask. "Sector 3424. Five miles to the east of Dora and Aragon's castle." He quickly told Junior. "Please…not my boy."

Junior's eyes stared hard at Walker's pleading form, their gaze feeling like they were trying to burn through him to find the truth. But finally, Junior moved his hand away from Eltros and stood back up.

" **If you are lying, I will be back."** Junior warned him before crashing violently through the ceiling above and flying away, the sounds of screams and blaster fire making it clear he was encountering some unfortunate resistance.

Using what strength he had left, Walker crawled his way on over to Eltros and sat himself up so that he could hold his crippled son in his arms.

"It's gonna be okay, boy." Walker told him gently as Eltros's eyes started to tiredly close from his blood loss. "We'll get ya fixed up. I promise."

* * *

Sitting with his feet up on his desk, HIM smiled toothily as the little black wind-up timer sitting in his claw moved into what would be the fifteen-minute mark, if the device had any numbers or markings whatsoever on it besides the white zero at the top. "About time you started making some real progress, Junior." The demon chuckled to himself.

Next to his waving feet, his speakerphone dinged. "Sir, your 9:00 is here to see you."

HIM pressed down on the button without looking while he still admired the timer. "Send him in, Ms. Hecate."

"He's already in, sir."

Upon hearing that, HIM took his eyes away from the clock and cast them upwards over the lava pool behind him, where sure enough the slender black shadow that was Aku stood over him, magma still dripping over the sides of his shoulders.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love your entrances?" HIM asked his old friend happily as he set the timer down, speaking louder than usual so that he could hear him from all the way up there. "I mean honestly, you made being reborn from a dead tree look impressive. Not enough villains care about their first impressions anymore these days. It's such a shame."

Ignoring HIM's words, Aku waved his massive hand, which was about the size of the demon's office, in front of the open wall, causing the half pink/half gold star symbol to appear in flames in the air before HIM.

" **How long has he been back, Kare?"** Aku asked him simply, straight to the point.

Watching the Master's Brand burn until it faded away into smoke, HIM waited a minute before answering. "I don't know when specifically HE came back to our little section of the realms, but I do know when we all came back to his attention." He told the Shogun as he loomed over him. "Seventeen years ago. Care to guess the exact date?"

Aku rubbed his hand to his face. **"The Demon Reaper Incident."** He groaned. **"I should have known."**

HIM chuckled loudly at his friend's realization. "Boy makes a splash that big and his pappy is sure to pay attention then!" He laughed.

Grimacing, Aku looked back down at the demon. **"When you had told me he went off into the multiverse to find another of what Mandy had stolen from him, I was hoping that was going to be the last we ever saw of him."**

"Yes, well, unfortunately that item in question is rather a lot like your old pal Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet. It's power only works in the universe it was created in and since this is the only universe he cares about, didn't have much choice but to come back now, did he?" HIM pointed out.

Aku gave HIM a dirty look. **"I suppose you'd know, give he probably told you all of that."** Aku said, the accusation heavy in his words. **"You're working with him, aren't you, Kare?"**

"With being the operative word, my friend. Not for." HIM said, choosing his words carefully. Confident as he was in his abilities, Aku was still damn powerful on his own and not someone he needed becoming his enemy right now. "I'm all for seeing Mandy's world crash down around her but I'm no one's lapdog. Unfortunately, that stance of mine has caused these people to withhold certain bits of information from me that they don't think I need to know. Such as the attack on your home by the ragdoll version of your former enemy, and thus why I called you."

Aku eyed the demon carefully, judging quietly how much of what HIM said he should believe. **"You said that Junior told you about the samurai?"**

"Indeed, and he was as disbelieving as you are about me not knowing anything about it." HIM explained, though still with a smirk across his face. "Honestly, people, don't you think that if I had a way to bring the dead back to life against their will I'd be constantly abusing it? I'd love nothing more than to bring Blossom back as a ragdoll just so I can rub her nose in what I've done to our daughter ever since she died."

To that, Aku gave no comment, staying oddly silent HIM noticed until he finally spoke again. **"Did you tell the boy about his father?"**

HIM gave a single laugh at the idea. "Where's the fun in that?" He asked with a wide smile. "Even if the big guy hadn't warned me not to tell Junior yet about who he really is, I'm getting so much more mileage out of sending Junior into this same information the long way around."

" **You are referring to your Devil's Essence, yes?"**

"Correct, my fashionably flaming eyebrowed friend." HIM said happily. "Junior will see things my way in time. All he needs is the right push, and whether his father realizes it or not, his whole plot is really just helping me give him that push."

Aku eyed HIM tensely, though still having trouble coming up with what to say. **"My daughter, on the suggestion of her wife, no doubt, wants our kingdom to send Junior aid. Some troops or at least Scaramouche, as she feels he is in great danger. And I am running out of reasons to say no."**

"Then don't. Fuck 'em!" HIM suggested with a laugh. "Your daughter's the one who married Mimi, not you, and she's not the Shoguness yet, is she? You don't owe Junior a thing and are perfectly in your rights to withhold your military might from wasting its time fighting his battles for him." HIM then looked up at Aku's grim and sunken face, placing a thoughtful claw to his chin. "…Unless, of course, that's not the real reason you don't want to join into this fight…" He remarked offhandedly, getting a glare from his friend. "Aku, baby…you wouldn't happen to be scared, would you?"

" **I AM AKU!"** The shogun bellowed in his sudden rage, his voice shaking the Land of Tainted Souls' very foundation. **"The shapeshifting master of darkness! The Shogun of Sorrows! I am the source of fear throughout a thousand worlds! Not a partaker of it! I fear no simple self-titled God of Magic!"**

HIM smirked up at the black demon's fuming, towering frame. "Then why is it you still refuse to say his name?" He asked pointedly.

Aku glared heavily at the small red man, no bigger than him thumb and so easy to squash under it. But still, knowing better than to pick this particular fight, at least right now, Aku recomposed himself. **"I could ask the same of you."** He retorted. **"You haven't said his real name once in the entire time I've been here."**

"Yes, but I'm an instigator." HIM shrugged. "I like pushing people into doing what they don't want to do. It's my nature. Besides…I say HIS real name then HE will start listening in and know that YOU are here asking about him. Now, I'm more than happy to set up a meeting between you two. Let you get all your grievances about him trying to have you and your daughter brutally murdered out into the open so you both can deal with them. …But for some reason I get the feeling you don't want me to do that."

Aku's eyes narrowed at HIM's annoyingly smirking face, the worst part about it being that the infernal majesty wasn't exactly wrong.

" **I will deal with the God of Magic in time, in the manner I choose."**

"I'm sure you will." HIM nodded, his tone uncaring. "But until then, why not just sit back and enjoy the show?" He remarked as he leaned comfortingly back in his chair, arms behind his head.

Aku said nothing in response, instead staring off into the distance and watching as the lava of the waterfalls oozed down into the lakes of fire, taking in the moment of relative calm.

" **Why did Eris ever have to bring that psychopath down here?"** Aku lamented grimly to his friend.

"Same reason you and I used to go up top in the glory days, I imagine." HIM said as he stared up lazily to the infinite black-red ceiling of his realm. "Mortals are far more interesting than we give them credit for. Why do you think I don't bother with angels anymore? Everything's so much more fun and dramatic with humans, or those close enough to being humans, anyway."

" **I suppose that was your silver lining when Mandy dumped you."** Aku remarked, a slightly teasing smirk coming to his face that grew bigger when HIM gave him a sideways glare. **"You lost a queen but gained a new enemy. Actually, it's because of that whole mess that I'm surprised you're working for-"**

"With."

" **-…with the God of Magic. I'd always theorized that it was her leaving you for him and having his son that really set you off and made you do what you could to force Blossom to bear you a child. It certainly matches up timeline-wise."** Aku remarked.

HIM shrugged. "Well…you're not entirely wrong. Though it was Mandy ditching me for Grim of all people that set me off. HE and her never got around to being much more than strange bedfellows, emphasis on the bed. Though as for her bearing his child…that's something I still have trouble wrapping my head around, and am greatly looking forward to learning more about. After all the hard work I've put into Junior, I'd like to know if I should be expecting any fun little surprises popping up in him."

" **You remember that you put a lot of hard work into getting Mandy on your side before as well and that blew up in your face."** Aku pointed out to him.

HIM chuckled darkly at the shogun's words. "I got to Mandy far too late for her to appreciate what I was offering, thus why I had to settle for what little control having her be my queen would give me. But Junior? Heh heh… He's already over halfway there." He said as the black timer ticked away slowly on his desk, still at the fifteen-minute position.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Bit of a shorter chapter, I know, but it does help move things forward a little bit, so that's something at least.

Yep, as most of you have guessed, the new Ghost King is none other than Danny Phantom, the human/ghost hybrid who never became his evil future self Dan Phantom. For the sake of less confusion, he'll be called Danny just to help differentiate him from the Dan you've all come to know. How he got like this will of course be answered in the upcoming chapters.

* * *

 **QTP:** Why was the Ghost King so convinced that Daniela was made, not born? What will happen to Eltros Walker? Is Aku afraid of the God of Magic? What is HIM's timer for?

* * *

 **OC samples: This section here is because someone above was curious as to any OC's I've been working on, so here are a few. I also talked about a few other in chapter 12 of the oneshot collection when I was talking to Coldblue.**

 **Bess (short for Betsy):** This is a character I've thought about a few times and that I do kind of want to use someday because she'd be a good romantic rival to Minnie for Junior's affections and would connect back to the original Billy and Mandy show. Bess would be born from a political marriage between Velma Green the Spider Queen (and Grim's best friend) and Arachnotaur the Spider God of Anger from the same TV special. In her disguised form Bess would look like an ordinary girl about Junior's age (she'd probably be black due to her father having brown fur) but in her true form her lower half is the abdomen and legs of a giant spider (like her mother) and she grows cow/bull horns out the top of her head. Given her lineage she is technically a demigod, thus her more Amazonian build when she gets older. After hearing about Grim from her mother for years and after witnessing Junior use his Demon Reaper abilities in an epic battle, she'd immediately decide that only the Demon Reaper is worthy of her and declares aloud that Junior shall be her husband, thus making her a rival to Minnie. She's a very proud and tough woman but very openly affectionate towards Junior, kind of like how Kurumu is with Tsukune in _Rosario + Vampire_.

 **Jennie/Jenny:** The sort-of daughter of Junior and Minnie. She was conceived by accident when Junior either gave Minnie back her right eye or a copy of it he created to save her life, which also resulted in her being able to grow and age again. However, Minnie's new right eye still had some of Junior's Reaper powers in it. Powers her body is not built to handle. As such, her body needed to find a way to safely rid herself of these powers and thus used Minnie's womb and shapeshifting abilities to create a baby that could house these powers safely (if Minnie had been a boy, then the Reaper powers would likely just have killed her because they'd have nowhere to go).

Even though this wasn't anything Junior asked for, he does still take responsibility. Marrying Minnie and helping her raise their child, to which Junior finds is a life he quite enjoys actually. He likes being a husband and father.

Jenny looks quite a bit like Minnie (save for her father's blue eyes) due to the Nergal birth basically making her an altered clone of Minnie (that's also why Jenny is not genetically messed up, as Junior and Minnie never actually had incestuous sex in order to conceive her). However, due to being raised by her parents from birth, her mind and personality are all her own and she feels a very special bond between her and her father, as she and Junior are the only two Demon Reapers in existence. However, like her mother Jenny starts to harbor certain feelings for Junior, ones that she fears expressing because she doesn't want to hurt her mother. Though bottling them up has led to a bit of hidden jealousy and even small moments of resentment towards Minnie.

 **The Seven Knights of the Seven Dragons:** This idea actually has a funny story behind it. I go to this website ComicVine quite a lot and check out the forums to see what people are talking about in regards to current comics and comic-based movie. One thread I took a look at was people asking how to salvage Cyborg's character and series after DC comic's New 52 changed him so much. One person pointed out that a big problem with his solo series books is that they are always about the same exact thing: he's fighting evil technology and feeling depressed about being more than half-robot. That's not a bad premise for a story but that's pretty much all DC's done with him since the New 52 and it eventually had to just get boring.

So that got me thinking about what I'd do to get people interested in Cyborg's stuff again without just rewriting all of the DC universe so that he's back on the Titans again (where I'm hoping DC's Rebirth will eventually lead him back to). Natural I thought of the _Teen Titans_ cartoon, which was my first introduction to the character. Outside of his great season arc dealing with Brother Blood, one of the episodes starring Cyborg that I remember the most is Cyborg the Barbarian, and just that image of him with a sword got me thinking: if him fighting technology all the time has gotten boring, why not have him fight the opposite? Why not let Cyborg be a modern-day knight batting demons and dragons?

And since I'm a firm believer in a hero needs a great villain in order to be great themselves, The Seven Knights of the Seven Dragons started forming in my head. An order of pre-destined knights tracing their roots back all the way to Medieval times who've made it their mission to hunt down seven legendary dragons and take their powers for their own. Each knight is born in a different time and destined to kill one of the dragons, though there is some infighting within the group as they try to steal the other's kill or even kill each other to claim their powers. Though the oldest member of the knight keeps order, as killing their dragon and partaking in a forbidden ritual grants them the dragon's elemental powers, their near-limitless lifespan, and the ability to transform into the same dragon that they killed.

Cyborg would encounter the group as some of the members have gone rogue and start making trouble in his city, knowing that the final seventh knight was destined to be born in this era and that this is their last chance to find and kill the final seventh dragon and gain its powers along with their own.

I'm still working on what each dragon, and thus what each knight, can do. So far I've got: the Dragon of the Iron Forge, the Dragon of the Razor Winds, the Dragon of the Twisting Green (because I want Cybrog to team up with Swamp Thing), the Dragon of the Cursed Graveyard (because I want Cybrog to team up with Etrigan the Demon, who will mock Cybrog with the possibility that he might not have a soul), and the Dragon of the Thundering Storm. As you can see, I still need two more dragons, as these can't just be any dragons but dragons with abilities no other has, such as the Dragon of the Iron Forge's ability to create any weapon and breathe life into any metal.


	18. Siege of the Castle

**Part 18: Siege of the Castle**

 **desdelor97:** Thank you.

 **Algremnon:** 1.) It's something of a mix of both these ideas.

2.) Same with his father, I suspect.

3.) Oh, most definitely.

4.) Not quite, sorry. I don't think HIM cares at all about Dan or Danny that much.

5.) I suppose you do have a point there. I know children born from incest are more prone to illness than others (just look at Charles Darwin's kids) but I guess I was thinking too far ahead down the genetic line in regards to actually defects. My apologies.

 **DPSS:** 1.) Well, Danny, Vlad, and Danielle before Daniela and Manny, but your point remains valid regardless.

2.) Yeah, but that's the thing about living in the Underworld. You can act out however you want as long as you have the power to back it up.

3.) Yeah, I'm not sure where I'd rank each of the Big Five in terms of just pure power. Mandy I suppose would be at the bottom because she's more of a strategist and sends others to fight for her. Walker would probably be next because the Ghost King is supposed to be the actual ruler of the Ghost Zone but Danny just lets him have the title. Aku, Hunson, and HIM are where things get messy. I'm not sure who I'd place above the other, nor how they'd fare against Junior (though I do plan for one of them to be able to show off more of their stuff much later on in the story).

4.) Bingo.

 **Coldblue:** I'm glad you like the OC's. As for the Cyborg idea, while it being an entirely different AU, my thought was more that'd take place more in the modern DC universe, where Cyborg is still a, well, cyborg, and that fighting against the dragons would make him more like a modern age knight (especially when I give him a sword at some point). I had the idea for the dragons because DC keeps doing the evil computer based villains against him and nothing new, thus why his solo series keep not selling well. Thus the Seven Knights of the Seven Dragons would give him a more mystical enemy to face (exact opposite of evil computers) while also giving him more of his own rogue's gallery. While I'm fine with Cyborg teaming up with other heroes, I mostly only thought of Swamp Thing and Etrigan because of how much of a contrast they are to Victor (Swamp Thing, the living plant man and protector of the green, and Etrigan, the asshole rhyming demon who would mock Cyborg for being half robot). So the knight are more meant to be a Cyborg-only villain group, like how Flash has the Rogues and Spidey has the Sinister Six (though I do like the idea of some of the dragons/knights being similar to the bigger heroes like Batman and Superman, so I'll need to keep that in mind).

Now, for your answers to the QTPs:

1.) I do need to bring Danielle into a Grim Tales story someday. Especially if Manny and Daniela are in it and especially if she'd be meeting with Dan (given that he has Vlad's memories, would he remember trying to create her?).

2.) I was actually thinking the same thing with Skulktech's tech, as I'm sure Walker would have confiscated a good number of his weapons over the years. Actually, that reminds me, while it won't be in this chapter, thanks to your recommendations I did think of the perfect cybernetic attachment/weapon for Minnie to use. I can't say much about it now but it does come from a movie that came out in the past year.

3.) I don't know about only negative emotions. Aku does clearly care a lot about his daughter. Enough to spoil her in her childhood while also being firm when he needs to, and even now he doesn't outright refuse to give her the help she wants for Junior.

4.) Pretty much this.

To answer your questions:

 _1.) Have you thought of Original Characters, like what if Samurai Jack and Buttercup had a child together? Maybe even Benedict Uno/Father having a child with Ms. Keane for a OC or even Dipper Pines having kids with Wendy Corduroy and Pacifica Northwest?_

I remember that when I decided to put Dipper in the League Beyond Legends story I did think about what his and Pacifica's daughter would be like. I haven't decided if they did have a kid in that continuity yet or not but regardless I've kind of imagined her as something of an Indiana Jones/Laura Croft-type of treasure hunter. Taking after her father's interest in the supernatural and a reckless adventurer type like her aunt Mabel. Though I feel it'd be something of a Toph and her family situation there too. Toph was given so little freedom by her parents and thus give her own daughters too much freedom, to the point where she was hardly ever there for them, which is how I imagine it could go for Pacifica and her daughter too, as she overcompensates in trying not to be the kind of parent hers were.

I like Wendy, but I've never really thought of her and Dipper as a couple. Sure, the age difference wouldn't really mean anything when they both were old enough, like say both over 18, but just the way they are currently and how the show did such a good job with that story of unrequited love, I guess I just never paired them up romantically in my head.

Benedict Uno and Ms. Keane? I'll admit, while I probably wouldn't write this pairing, it is kind of an interesting one and I can see him kind of awkwardly charming her. He was a pretty sweet guy from what I remember.

This idea of a child between Jack and Buttercup does kind of remind me of this old X-Men lemon idea I had years ago, where Mister Sinister is visited by a cosmic being who does not understand his fixation on creating the perfect being from only these two mutants (Cyclops and Jean Grey) when various random genetic mutations could lead him to more beneficial results. Thus through some cosmic power, the two are able to get random X-Men members to pair up with each other for a day, where afterwards the two would then steal any of the impregnated eggs from the X-ladies and see what becomes of them. This idea happened because I was curious what the children of certain mutants would be like, like Wolverine and Shadowcat, or Cyclops and Rogue, Emma Frost and Beast, even Storm and Mystique (shapeshifting can come in handy sometimes). I even thought about the power affecting even non-mutant heroes, like getting Spider-Man and Carol Danvers to have a night together (two characters whom now are well known for how Marvel screwed them over with event comics). I imagine that if I ever did Samurai Jack and Buttercup OC kid, he/she would probably be the result of a similar story.

 _2.) Will we get Danny Fenton, the SECOND Ghost King, thinking back to Megaville and how it changed from Hero to King?_

Of course. I wouldn't have put him in here if I hadn't thought of at least some of his backstory, and Megaville is most certainly going to come up in that.

 _3.) Are we going to have a God of Magic origin Arc to explain more about how these character connect with the God of Magic in "Grim Tales: Complex"? Maybe even explain how a Cartoon Character became known as the God of Magic?_

I don't know about an arc exactly, but like with Danny, the God of Magic's story will be told throughout the bigger story, where in some parts you'll get small snippets and in others you'll get entire sections of his life, but nowhere are you likely to be told everything all at once (assuming I do a good job of it, of course). By the end of the story, all questions about both characters should be answered, even if the answers are hopefully horribly depressing (hee…).

 _4.) Have you checked out "Desperation" or the Obsession series of stories that the writer, the Struggling Warrior update or completed stories based on "Danny Phantom"/"Young Justice"/DC crossover story?_

A little bit. As you've probably guessed from the delay of this chapter, I've barely had time to write fanfiction, let alone read it.

 **nightmaster000:** Glad you liked it. Hard for me to say who could end up in a story first, Betsy or Jennie? I like them both a lot.

 **Valtek:** I have an idea of when she'll show up. Hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer.

 **Lord Razer:** To answer your question, no, Aku only ever had Chi in this timeline. I started writing and planning out this story before season 5 came out and thus I don't think it'd be a good idea to change a bunch of stuff around to fit with it, save for perhaps a few minor characters from that season showing up. That said, I should definitely do something involving Chi and the seven daughters someday, as there is good character and story potential there.

 **Guest:** Was it a Naruto comic? I think I've seen a version of this idea with Minato, Kushina, and baby Naruto.

 **Guest:** I'll keep this idea in mind, and thank you for the clarification.

 **DarkDremora:** 1.) Pretty much hit the nail on the head here.

2.) Bit of a combination of both actually.

3.) Exactly.

4.) Close, but I will say that it wouldn't be as much fun for HIM if he forced Junior into the Red's control. The best hint I can give at the moment is that the needle of the timer moves when the Devil's Essence does, not the other way around.

As for your question, this is going to be a sadly very uncreative answer, but the top three girls of Grim Tales that I like in a romantic relationship with Junior are Minnie, Mimi, and Chi, whom are honestly the ONLY girls in Grim Tales not counting their mothers (also not counting those he ate, like Lock, Shock, and Barrel). I have no problem with Minnie or Mimi as love interests, of course. In fact if I ever did a harem Grim Tales story with a bigger cast one of those two would still likely be the main love interest. It's just that Junior has honestly not interacted with that many girls in the comic. Heck, he STILL has not met Chi yet.

 **Guest:** I'll admit, I have not considered that. I've thought of Blossom creating Mimi like how the Professor created the Powerpuffs, but nothing like that involving Chi, so I'll have to give it some thought.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

Danny released the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding up until now. The battle was over.

With their respective portals, he and the younger ghost had clashed with each other all throughout the castle, finally ending up here in the mess hall (not that the king's servants ate much) with Daniela's unconscious body on the floor, her skin having returned back to its green coloring before reverting back to her human form, while he still stood to show clearly who was the winner. It was never in doubt, honestly, but the girl lasted far longer than anyone he'd faced since taking the Crown of Fire upon his head.

Danny looked at the many thick ice shards reaching out from the wall behind him, forming an almost perfect circle around his body. _"She saw me manipulate and absorb cold only once and yet she pulled off the same technique almost flawlessly."_ With one hand, she'd intercepted his ice blast. With the other, she let what she'd taken it blast back out before it could overwhelm her. Had it not been for the king's powerful ecto-blast, he probably be covered in a thick layer of the stuff and Daniela would still be fighting him. _"…You've got talent, kid. I'll give you that."_

Danny's ears perked as he heard someone approach. "My liege!" The Fright Knight came running in through the hall's wide entrance, his Soul Shredder held ready in his hand. "I came to aid you as soon as I awoke! I-! …Oh." He stopped himself upon seeing Daniela's knocked out body on the floor, sword going limp.

Danny simply looked at him with his arms folded. "Ah. Sir Michael. How nice for you to finally join us."

The Ghost King being the only one whom he'd ever allow to get away with using his real name, the Fright Knight immediately fell to his knees and bowed his head low. "I beg your forgiveness, my king. I underestimated my opponent and left myself vulnerable, failing in my duties to you."

"Are you upset because you got beaten or because of how Grim Jr distracted you and you just remembered how I can hear everything said around my castle?" Danny asked the servant pointedly.

"…Quite a bit of both, actually." The Fright Knight admitted, still staring down at the floor.

" _Well, at least he's honest."_ The king remarked to himself, deciding to let it go. "Whatever. What's done is done, so we'd best start cleaning up around her."

"Yes, sir." The Fright Knight said as he rose back up. Looking over at Daniela, he pointed his sword towards her form and asked "Shall I finish off the intruder for you, my lord?"

Watching the slow rise and fall of Daniela's body that assured him that she was still alive, Danny quietly pondered his options for a minute. "…No. There's no need. She's harmless." He said, his words working to justify to himself his decision. "Take her up to the infirmary and get her patched up. The closest portal I can open up to Castle Grimskull is still too far away for her to make it back to her home in her condition and I don't feel like taking her there myself. Knowing Mandy, she'd probably be expecting me and I already know what happens to those who play her game."

"Of course, my lord." The Fright Knight said with a small bow before sheathing his sword at his belt. While his master made a wave of his hand, melting the remaining ice around him and causing the tables and chairs of the hall to fix themselves, the ghost knight made his way over to Daniela, carefully picking her up and holding her unconscious form gently in his arms, as it was clear the king preferred no further harm to come to her. "Curious." The Fright Knight uttered as he looked upon Daniela's face. "The Reaper I can understand, but how did a human get so far into the Ghost Zone without perishing?"

"She's a halfa." Danny explained, though without turning around to look at the servant.

"A halfa? Like you, my lord?" The Fright Knight ask in great confusion and surprise.

Danny didn't speak for a moment. "…No. Not like me. She says she was born the way she is, with Dan as her father. And given her mother is Mandy the Immoral Immortal, I'm starting to believe that."

"Oh." The Fright Knight said, taking another look down at Daniela's face, starting to see the resemblance to his master and immediately regretting his previous question. "My deepest apologies for what you must be feeling right now, my lord. I will take her out of here at once."

The knight walked back off the way he came, Daniela cradled in his arms. Danny considered for a moment following but decided he'd rather just have the servants report to him when she was recovered enough.

The castle then shook. The sudden rumble being enough to nearly knock both ghosts off their feet.

"What in Tartarus was that?" The Fright Knight uttered before a second tremor occurred, more forceful that the first. The Ghost King stretched out his senses, listening to and feeling everything around his castle to find what'd caused the disturbance.

Given how wide his lord's eyes suddenly became, it was clear it didn't take long.

"Move!" Danny cried out, flying right at the Fright Knight to push him and Daniela out of the way as the ceiling of the mess hall exploded open and a pointed tower of red brick came crashing into the room, nearly destroying the very floor from its impact and its tip stopping just short of the three.

Once they had a moment to breathe and recover from the sudden shock, the Fright Knight said "Is that…the castle's east tower?"

Recognizing the structure now that his servant had mentioned it, Danny then noticed the black wave of oozing flesh spreading out like a fungus across the fallen tower, clinging to it and holding the structure together as it was then picked back up the way it came down, with the Ghost King spotting the barely recognizable red-eyed Reaper holding it up from its base, his hands seemingly morphing into it.

"Junior?" Danny uttered, the hooded figure looking so much more alien than their last encounter.

The Demon Reaper's scream was nothing sort of inhuman, like some kind of animal. Danny heard an explosion come from the top of the held-up tower and looking up, saw that a massive five-fingered hand had been formed from the mixture of brick, tile, and Nergaling flesh. The tower, though now more accurate to say "the arm", came smashing down again, the open palm aiming directly for the Ghost King. A quick energy shield dome around his body protected Danny from any harm but the impact still shattered the floor of the entire hall, forcing both him and the Fright Knight to float, lest they fall into the far dungeons below the castle.

The giant hand gripped its fingers around Danny's shield like it was a baseball. At first he believed Junior was about to throw him like one as well but then he felt his shield start to become rapidly weakened, and continuously so, as the drain kept going no matter how much of his own energies he pumped back into it.

" _He's devouring the ecto-energy!"_ Danny realized as his eyes soon made out the hundreds of tiny mouths that'd opened up in the skin of the massive hand, all nomming away at the shield.

It didn't take long before the defense failed completely and Danny as forced to dodge out of the way before the hand could get its uneven and jagged fingers around him. Though of course the moment he did he was left open for Junior's new and incredibly long tail to stab out at him with its bladed end. The Ghost King saved himself with a quick puff of icy breath, causing the tail's tip to instantly freeze over and shatter like glass upon striking his chest. This bought him barely a second of breathing room however, as five new tails burst out from the iced-over stump, all lashing out at the walls and the ceiling and what rubble remained of the floor and embedding into the brickwork before tearing it all out as the five tails spun with the ferocity of a helicopter's shining blades.

"My king!" Danny heard before the repeated screeching clangs of metal on metal as the Fright Knight had rush forward to protect him, drawing out Soul Shredder to block the onslaught of spinning blades.

Danny nearly instantly reprimanded the knight. Not only would he likely have survived the attack without his ally's help, but the Fright Knight was still holding Daniela in his arm as he fought against the tails, and Danny was certain that getting the girl accidentally killed was in no way going to get Junior to calm down.

However, he stopped himself just short of doing so, as Daniela's presence sparked the obvious idea in his head.

"Junior! Your sister! She's here! She's fine!" He shouted over to the Reaper. "She's still alive but if you keep at this she could get hurt! Let's just talk about this!"

It was difficult to say whether Junior had actually not heard him or if he'd simply ignored what Danny had said, as there was little change in Junior's mannerisms other than him swinging his tails back so that they started cutting through the side walls and the rooms beyond them. The humongous arm he'd forged for himself out of the fallen tower did the same to the opposite wall as he pulled it back. What the Demon Reaper was up to other than random destruction was not obvious until Junior brought his arm and his tails swinging back towards the three, Danny seeing that the Nergaling flesh was bringing with it every bit of rubble that the appendages had knocked loose. Junior was going to strike him with the weight of nearly half the castle!

From both of Danny's hands erupted one single blast of ecto-energy, its power showing off well his status as king as not a single bit of Junior touched upon his frame, other than which had been reduced to ash. Though the fact that the Fright Knight and Daniela were right beside him as Junior attacked was worthy of concern. "Junior! Your sister! She's right here!" Danny called back out to him, trying to get the Reaper to see reason. "Stop attacking or you'll hurt her too!"

Danny's yells fell upon deaf ears, as the only thing Junior seemed mindful of at the moment was that his tails and his new arm had been destroyed, meaning he had to use something new to attack with. Danny could see the Reaper's chest bulge out slightly in several different areas from underneath his black jacket before an entire swarm of hundreds of black and glowing green-silt Nergal tentacles burst out from inside Junior's chest and moved as nearly one unnaturally long solid mass to attack the Ghost King. Danny blasted at the appendages as he had before, certain the result would be the same. In truth he very well could have been right. But even in Junior's unreasonable state, he still was able to learn from experience. As such, from the main swarm, several individual tentacles separated off, grabbing bits of the castle rubble and whatever else was around and throwing themselves in front of the blast, taking the impact while the hundreds of others remain unharmed as they continued on their speedy path towards the king, him now seeing the many teeth and single large gigantic maw that the shapeshifting mass had formed, taking up nearly the entirety of his view.

Before he could hear any word of protest about it from his servant, Danny ripped open a portal to quickly send the Fright Knight and Daniela away. Perhaps it would have been wise to open one for himself to escape in too, but given that he was dealing with a Reaper here (and apparently one out of his mind), Danny didn't want to risk Junior simply opening his own portals and following after them. So instead, the king was left with little choice but to stay and face him.

Not directly however, as Danny could feel it through the castle around him through his connection to it. Something more was being done to it other than just the random destruction Junior was causing to these few rooms. Whatever was going on, Danny somehow just knew he needed to get out and fast.

As even the very bricks of Pariah's Keep obeyed the will of the realm's king to some extent, Danny was able to command the many walls and doors ahead to move out of his way, allowing him to lose none of his much needed speed and time as the snapping and munching mass of tentacles chased after him. Every structure that moved aside for the king was another that the shifting black masses burst through, barely being slowed as they gained upon their target.

Danny felt the strangeness in the castle again, and as he finally approached near the building's end, he could finally start piecing together what was happening. The castle's upper half was starting to tip up! At a sharp angle no less, judging by the many suits of armor and withered old painting that tumbled past him.

Up ahead, the king could see the familiar green lights of the outside Ghost Zone. That was where the opening had been created. And right at that opening that gleamed in those lights? There was no mistaking it. Those were more teeth. Just like those upon the mass snapping at him from behind, only several times bigger.

Escaping into the outside and Danny instantly felt the change of perspective. The hundreds of tentacles that'd finally stopped chasing him were not just that, but a tongue as well.

Giant red eyes stared out at the king from behind every window. The few bridges and overpasses between points that the castle held were overtaken in fleshy blackness, breaking off from the body to each form another misshapen arm. The two remaining towers atop the castle's height now more than ever resembled devilish horns, as scattered blotches of red brick showed themselves through gaps in the Nergalizing structure.

" _This sensation…the same as on Halloween all those years ago… The same that brought you back to this universe, Tim."_ Danny thought to himself as his wide eyes could barely take in the full sight as the Demon Reaper Beast's roar exploded in his eardrums. _"What you showed me back then doesn't even compare to having him right here in front of me…"_

There was little time more for Danny to gawk as the almost Cronenbergian horror before him, as from the energy he could feel building in the air, Danny realized why Junior had receded his second mouth back inside his first and halted its pursuit of him. The enormous slitting mouth that the Demon Reaper had formed out of the castle's base opened up wide with its jaw splitting open right down the middle so that the king could have a good look as the green building up at the back of the monster's throat.

With a fairly good idea of the damage that could be caused if he ran away, Danny stood his ground in that open air, breathing in deeply before unleashing his Ghostly Wail at the same moment Junior did.

Funny thing sound. It travels in waves. And if you cancel out the wave, say with perhaps another wave of equal yet opposite magnitude, you theoretically cancel out the sound. And thus, in this battle between the king of an entire unearthly realm and a demon beast of potential Armageddon, where one would expect to hear booming roars and the thunderous crashes of one's power again another…instead there was nothing. Even with the clear sight of the Ghost King's screams against the monster's, the air was filled with nothing but deafening silence. All noise cleared away by the two clashing wails.

At least until the final waves hit, upon which the world came exploding back into existence for the ears of all, including the Fright Knight, whom collected the discarded Amulet of Aragon from the floating island the Ghost King had ported him to, and Daniela, whom was finally stirred back to consciousness by the noise of the battle and the typhoon of wind blasting past the two of them from the battle..

"Ah, good, you have awakened." The knight barely addressed her as he was more focused on the amulet. "Careful not to push yourself too much yet. You may have a mild concussion and you falling back into unconsciousness would not bode well for either of us at the moment."

Daniela rubbed her hand across her face, her eyes barely able to focus and her mind having a similar problem. "What…? Where…? What's going on…?"

"My king and your brother are currently reengaged in battle." The Fright Knight pointed, Daniela for the moment only able to make out a big black blob and the occasional spark of green from likely the Ghost King's blows.

"Brother…?"

"Indeed. It is quite the sight, I will admit. Though I have no doubts as to who the winner shall be." The knight remarked as he watched Danny freeze the numerous blades that Junior had shot out at him from his giant swinging arm. "Your brother is stronger than expected, yes, but within the Ghost Zone there is no limit to the Ghost King's power. And even taking that out of the equation, my king is wise enough to outthink any mindless beast." The Fright Knight held the amulet up to his face, watching his reflection gleam in its jewel. "With the Amulet of Aragon, my power will be increased greatly enough to aid my king in his battle against this monster, thus his likely reasoning for porting us to this spot instead of further away. The Reaper is powerful but even he will be hard pressed to deal with us both."

Even Daniela wasn't quite sure what happened next. Still barely able to focus on anything, the teen saw the light flash across the amulet's jewel and that just sparked her to action. Her one thought: this man wanted to hurt Junior! She couldn't let that happen!

With her body barely able to fulfil its movements, Daniela leapt up from where the Fright Knight had set her down and snatched the amulet from out of his hands before it ever even touched his neck. It was such an easy steal as there had been no reason for the surprised knight to expect the exhausted and beaten girl to even attempt anything so reckless.

Daniela morphed into her ghost form and attempted to fly away, but with her body so low on energy and strength, she simply fell right back down to the ground, barely a few feet away from where she'd started. With no other idea coming to her tired mind, Daniela curled up into a ball against the dirt, clutching the amulet tightly to her stomach and hiding it underneath her defensive body.

"Are you a fool?!" The Fright Knight bellowed at her, his surprise quickly turning to anger as he tried to pry the girl's curled form open to get the amulet back. "In the state your brother is in right now, should the king lose his attention for even a moment there's no telling the kind of damage his rampage may inflict upon the rest of the Ghost Zone! His protection is not what you should be concerned about!"

Still, Daniela kept her body held tight around the amulet, keeping the knight from being able to grab it. He finally resorted to kicking and stomping at her backside in his frustration, demanding she release the amulet before it was too late.

Another of Danny's ecto-blasts struck at Junior's hulking form but this time the Demon Reaper did not swing back at him, its many eyes shifting over to the side towards something else that'd caught its interest. The Fright Knight felt a sudden sense of awareness and upon looking up, saw the towering Demon Reaper Beast glaring down upon him, half its eyes on him and the other half upon Daniela, whom the ghost's foot currently stood atop of. There was a low, yet constant rumble of the air around him that seemed to shake the knight to his core. The monster was growling at him through its teeth.

"…Oh dear…" The Fright Knight uttered in quiet fear as he slowly removed his foot from Daniela's backside, not that it was to help him much. From the spikes protruding out from the beast's back it pulled out a single long green scythe blade. No staff or handle attached. The monster simply held it at its edge with no difficulty. The Fright Knight doubted he'd remain as uncut as he watched the demon take aim at him.

Danny was already set to intercept the blast, feeling his Wail building up again in his throat, waiting for the right moment to protect his servant and the girl on the blade's arc down. But then…

"Junior…"

A one small quiet voice among all the chaos and everyone stopped dead in their tracks, including the Demon Reaper. All eyes went to Daniela, whom laid with her head tilting up to look upon the big black blur. "Junior…" She spoke again, sounding so tired. "Is that you…?"

A long moment passed, but slowly, the beast lowered its blade, its many eyes looking upon the girl with confusion and yet also concern. With its free hand it reached out to her on that floating island, using its rocky finger that was nearly twice the size of her own body to gently pick her up to her knees and stroke her chin. The Fright Knight nearly ran at the hand with his sword to protect Daniela but he instantly stopped himself when he saw his king quickly hold up his hand to him, signaling for him to wait as he cautiously watched the scene.

As Daniela placed her hand upon the giant's gentle finger and tiredly leaned against the digit for support, the Demon Reaper Beast's many eyes slowly shifted from red back to their normal green. The Fright Knight was given a sudden start as a single brick cracked against the ground in front of them before more started to fall from above as well. The beast's Nergaling flesh was receding away, causing the many large chunks of Pariah's Keep to come tumbling out of the demon's shrinking body and fall onto either of the two floating islands or into the green abyss below. All the black, shifting flesh converged at a single point, that being the giant's hand before it started to change as well; the outside materials falling out of it as the hand morphed into the tall and thin frame of the black jacketed Junior, kneeling on the ground before his sister, the sight of him bringing a smile to her face.

An almost tearful look covering the majority of his face, Junior threw both his arms around Daniela and hugged her tightly into his body "I was so worried about you…" He admitted to her almost tearfully, said not in anger but in relief of his fears.

Still feeling very tired, Daniela let herself lean into her brother's chest, feeling like she could just fall asleep right there in his arms. "I caught up with you…" She said softly with closed eyes and a smile.

Daniela felt her brother's arms squeeze her a little tighter.

Danny released his breath. _"It's over."_ He thought thankfully, letting the Wail's power die off in his throat. _"I don't want to know what could have happened to the Ghost Zone if we had to continue that fight."_

With a wave of his hand, the crown upon Danny's hand burned brighter and the ring around his finger glowed with more power as the many scattered chunks of the Ghost King's castle floated up from the abyss and started to repair themselves as easily as the chairs and tables in the mess hall had. Red bricks stacked themselves against each other and the slivers of wood melded back into their proper shapes before returning to their original positions. As the shadows of the rising towers fell and cast over the group, they could all see that Pariah's Keep was only mere minutes away from being completely restored to its former glory, with not a speck of Junior's rampaging influence to be seen.

As the many walls could be heard clicking themselves back together over the rumble of thousands of rising bricks, Danny landed on the floating island and turned to the Fright Knight. "Once the eastern wing is restored enough, show these two to the infirmary so that the girl can get her concussion checked out. Once she's well enough to leave, make sure that they do."

"Yes, my king." The Fright Knight said with a bow, voicing no complains over being passed the burden on handling the two troubling intruders.

With that addressed, Danny looked over to the two siblings. "Junior." He called to the Reaper, getting him to look over while still keeping a protective hold over his sister. "If you hadn't come back to your senses and that fight between us had continued, I don't know if I would have lost necessarily but I can certainly see how much difficulty I could have had in putting you down and how much damage we would have caused in the meantime. You are indeed very powerful."

Junior couldn't feel any malice intentions coming off the Ghost King and so he stayed silent and allowed him his moment to speak. Though the Reaper's tight grip around Daniela and his cautious stare at the ghost were all anyone needed to see to know that Junior was not yet ready to let his guard down.

"…But you have no chance against the God of Magic." Danny continued, speaking calmly but with a sternness to his words. "The things he can do and the things I know he _will_ do to get what he wants are greater than you can possibly imagine. You can't win against him and knowing what I know won't change that for you. So my advice for you? Take your sister and whatever other siblings that you have that you care about and get as far away from this feud of your mother's as you can and hope that the fallout of whatever HE does to her doesn't reach wherever you're hiding."

With his speech said, the Ghost King turned, opening up a portal before himself and walking through it before it closed behind him, taking him who knows where back into his rebuilding castle.

The area was now almost dead silent, save for the clacks of the moving bricks, as Junior thought through the ghost's words, thankfully interrupted by the Fright Knight giving an awkward cough and offering to show the pair up to the infirmary now.

* * *

The Boogieman collapsed his spyglass and slid it back into his robe's sleeve. "Well, that was dreadfully boring. Not one of them even got properly maimed." He commented with a small chuckle as he and Dan stood on another of the Ghost Zone's many floating rocks, watching from miles away as Junior picked his sister up carefully and followed behind the Fright Knight into the castle. "And they call that a battle. Still, must be something quite special for you, eh? Your little past self, all grown up."

Dan gave a simple grunt in response, watching Junior and his daughter until they vanished past the gates of the castle. "Explains why I haven't been able to find him until now." He remarked. "Does he really just hide out in his castle every day and port it around the Ghost Zone? Pathetic."

"Oh my, yes. In fact that particular power has been quite a torn in our sides for a while now." Boogie said to the ghost. "Every time we tried to do anything through this realm, he'd pop up and drive us off. Honestly I'm still amazed that we got Pandora's Box out of here without him catching us, even with the master's help."

Dan turned to the dream demon. "And why is this all-powerful "master" of yours interested in my former past self anyway? The way you go on about this God of Magic it sounds like he should have the power to juggle planets with one hand strapped behind his back. So why do you need to resort to using a thug like me to take out little old Danny Phantom?"

Boogie gave a short, confident laugh. "While his enemies may not think so, my master is not a monster. Our resident Ghost King did used to be his friend and even after all the bad blood between them he'd rather not have fight and kill him. …But we still can't risk him having one of those sudden surges of conscience you old heroes are known for and go join Mandy's side of the fight, so we still need him taken care of. And since Lantern got himself ripped apart and Empheles is busy with other matters, we figured some outside help such as yourself might be of some benefit to us. Why? You're not suddenly having second thoughts after seeing how powerful your alternate self has become, are you?"

Dan glared at Boogie's slyly smirking face, looking about ready to throttle him. "You do remember that I can kill you now that I'm awake, right?"

Boogie shrugged. "Just asking. Concern over your well-being and whatnot."

"Well, don't be." Dan snipped at him before looking back to the castle. "Like you said, what happened down there was barely a fight and even if it was, I've fought Junior's Beast form plenty of times. Danny going up against it once means nothing." Dan folded his arm, his obsessing thoughts clearly getting sucked up into his memories. "The only thing I'm interested in if that new fire form, and from what I've seen, no one but me is going to be able to beat Junior when he's like that."

"I don't know." Boogie chimed in, looking down at the castle as well. "Regardless of your opinion of how he's been doing since he avoided the path of life that would have taken him to you, young Daniel down there is still the Ghost King and that's not exactly an easy title to claim."

"Back in my time, Pariah Dark is dead." Dan told him, much to Boogie's interest. "I was there, and he died while wearing both that crown and that ring. Make of that what you will."

Boogie raised a suspect eyebrow at the ghost's words but still gave a happy chuckle nonetheless. "I knew we were right in bring you into this.

The two continued their watch of the castle, noting the green bones of the skeletal guards starting to reform at their old guarding positions now that the castle had finished rebuilding (and that they no longer had to deal with Junior).

"This plan of yours," Dan said to Boogie. "Will my daughter being here get in the way of it?"

Boogie stroked his chin as he pondered that thought for a moment. "Actually…I think she'll help it go a lot smoother. That is…as long as you're not _too_ attached to her."

Dan gave Boogie a look. "…She's my daughter. She'll be able to tough it out regardless. If not…then that's at least why I have a spare."

* * *

Danny entered into his own private quarters of the castle. There was nearly always enough of the Ghost Zone's green lights entering in through the stained-glass window that he never needed to bother with lighting the room's torches. Not that he was in here that much to make a difference anyway. Pinching the space between his eyes, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd slept.

The king moved towards his bed to get at least a moment's rest, but for reasons he couldn't quite explain, his attention was grabbed by the large ovular mirror hanging on his wall.

"…You're watching, aren't you Tim?" Danny said to his own reflection in the mirror.

The reflection mimicked the movements of the king's mouth and body as they occurred, as any proper reflection would. However, once Danny's words had finished, the reflection's eyes had noticeably shifted from green to sky blue, before the reflection actually smiled on its own the stern-faced Danny.

"You know I always try to keep up with what's going on in my friends' lives." The reflection said, in a voice that was noticeably not Danny's.

Danny gave a groan. "You know I've always hated the mirror trick." He said, the reflection no longer following his movements.

"Why do you think I love using it?" The reflection chuckled, an odd sight as it was still Danny's form in the mirror that it used to move and talk through.

Giving a small glare, Danny dropped the matter and moved on to others. "I met your son." He told the mirror. "I take it you had something to do with why he came here of all places asking about you?"

"Ehh, that's a bit of a yes and no right there." The God of Magic said, adjusting the Crown of Fire atop the reflection's head. "Probably no surprise to you that Kare likes to improvise. As well as make things far more difficult than they have to be. That's something I'll greatly need to talk with him about. Still, feisty little bugger, wasn't he? Tell me, how'd my boy do?"

"He destroyed my castle and tried to eat me." Danny stated sourly.

"Yeah, he's got a bit of a temper on him. Again, something I'll have to speak to HIM about but that's at least something I'm a bit less upset over. His struggle with the Devil's Essence is at least keeping him away from Mandy's greedy little claws."

Danny caught that last part. "The Devil's Essence?! Oh my god, Tim, are you serious?!" He yelled in disbelief at the mirror. "You know what that stuff can do to people! How could you let Junior keep something that dangerous locked up inside him!"

"I had nothing to do with him getting it." The reflection stated calmly, in contrast to him old friend. "By the time I'd brought that red bastard into this it'd already been over a year since he and Junior made their deal over it and Kare's daughter. It was Junior's own choice to take on that burden, not mine."

"Maybe, but you sure as hell aren't doing anything to help him with that burden now are you? Like we both know you probably more than have the power to do so." Danny shot at him sharply. "Have you even actually met your son yet, Tim? Because he sure as hell didn't seem to know anything about you when he came bursting in here. Not even your name. Just that stupid title you gave yourself."

The God of Magic fell slightly silent for a moment. "No…not yet. The time just hasn't been right. Not with Grim and Mandy still having such a big hold over him." He said, his tone one of justification.

Danny shook his head. "Yeah. That about what I expected to hear from you."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" The God of Magic glared, crossing the reflection's arms.

"What do you think it means?" Danny asked back pointedly. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised that you've actually gotten worse since I quit. Nothing matters to the great God of Magic other than his never-ending quest for more power. Not even his own son."

"It's never been like that and you know it." The God of Magic said, still calm but a bit more heated in his words.

"Really? Then tell me, what's it like?!" Danny yelled, needing a moment to remind himself not to put his fist through the mirror as the magician wasn't actually there.

"She took my son." He stressed bitterly. "I never got to see my boy grow up because of that woman. I figured you of all people could sympathize with never getting to be a parent."

"Don't you dare-!" Danny started, feeling his temper somehow rise up even higher before the God of Magic cut him off and continued.

"And even somehow ignoring that, you do remember that she stole the one last thing I needed in order to make the world we wanted possible, right? And don't you honestly believe it's any safer in her hands than ours, do you?"

Danny rubbed his hand tiredly to his face. "…I wondered when we were going to get to that." He remarked. "The goal, not the object."

"That goal was the entire reason you joined up with me." The God of Magic reminded him.

"Yeah, and I thought that when I quit that would have finally been your wake-up call, like the one I had." Danny said. "Tim, what we were doing, what you are STILL doing, it wasn't right?"

"Wasn't right? Wasn't right?" The God of Magic scoffed. Even after all these years he could hardly believe the ghost could say such a thing. "We did more to keep this universe and all its realms safe than any of these other so-called gods and heroes. Who finally destroyed the Lich? We did. Who burned away what was left of the Nightmare realm so that more creatures like Bill Cipher couldn't escape from it? We did. We were the ones who killed the sons of Trigon. Who stopped the Gems' war the minute those aliens landed on Earth. It was because of the two of us that Pariah Dark was never able to bring on his second siege of the Ghost Zone and mortal realm."

Danny felt the Ring of Rage itch against his finger, causing him to cover it with his other hand guiltily.

"And while you always thought the methods we used were a bit extreme, even you had times when you agreed that we were giving these monsters exactly what they deserved." The God of Magic finished.

"And what about Gwen Tennyson?" Danny asked sharply. "Billy Baston? Stephen Strange? The Butterfly family? Did they get what they deserved too?!"

"Those were…! …Those were…complicated." He tried to explain, the expression on the reflection's face telling Danny that his former friend had at least thought about what they'd done to these people and spent a lot of time trying to justify it to himself. "Not every hero got off as easily as you did after Megaville, Dan. Some of them went down some very dark roads and we had to stop them before they put the realms at risk."

"What? So now we're using the same excuse as the Observants did when they-"

"Don't!" The God of Magic barked at him, almost getting Danny to jump at the suddenness of it. "Don't…! Don't you dare compare me to them." He warned him, the reflections fist curling so tightly in rage Danny thought the glove might tear open. "Not when you know what they did."

"Then you should know that what you're doing needs to stop." Danny tried to plead with him.

The reflection's face grimaced slightly and it rapidly shook its head. "What I'm doing is different from the Observants." He said to him. "They just wanted to make the world stable, but I can actually create a better world! I'm so close to finally accomplishing what we'd always dreamed of! I might have already been able to do it if I'd still had your help, Dan. Instead I've been forced to rely on the aid of-"

"Of the same kind of monsters you and I used to destroy." Danny instantly interrupted his speech, getting a slightly surprised look from the reflection. "That's right, I know. You think I haven't been paying attention to what goes on outside the Ghost Zone? Or what comes in through it? I noticed only too late what you and your people did in the Acropolis of Athens, or what happened to Youngblood. For god's sake, Tim, these people are kidnapping children and you're letting them!"

"It's not that bad." The God of Magic stated, trying in frustration to just make the ghost understand. "None of this is as bad as you're making it sound."

"How?! How is it not exactly as bad as I'm making it sound?!" Danny asked.

"Because none of it will matter in the end!" The God finally exclaimed. "A thousand children or just one. A few monsters killed or entire dimensions wiped out. It makes no difference because I'll be able to bring them all back, once I get back the power Mandy stole from me! That was the entire point of what we were trying to do!"

"And what if you can't?!" Danny finally burst out at him, clear that this confrontation had been building for quite some time. "What if we were wrong?! What if you finally get back what Mandy stole and add its power to all the power you already have and it's still not enough?! …Tim…all the horrible things we did, that you're still doing…we justified it to ourselves that it was going to all be okay in the end, because we were going to be able to take it all back. But what if we can't? What if all those lives we snuffed out really are all gone forever? Do you really want to be remembered as nothing more than a mass murderer, Tim? Please…" Danny nearly reached out to pleadingly touch his friend's shoulder before reminding himself that this was still just a mirror. "This has already gone on too long, but you can stop it before it gets any worse."

The reflection looked off to the side, a thousand-yard stare coming out of those blue eyes that told Danny that the God of Magic was thinking through what he'd just said and nearly considering it. But then the reflection's face twisted and its sight snapped back on the ghost with furious features. "And what would recommend I do instead? That I be more like you?" The God of Magic spat venomously. "That I find a hole to crawl into and hide away from the world? Spend the rest of my days running away from everything I don't want to deal with and be afraid to ever actually live again? Your own daughter shows up on your front door and your first instinct is just to have her sent away so that you don't have to think about it."

"She is not my-!"

"Right, right, she's evil future Dan's daughter. Probably means she's better off then, doesn't it?" He said, cutting his friend very deep with his words. "He at least managed to pull himself together after his life fell apart. But you? We both know that if I hadn't found you when I did, hell, that even now if I wasn't still around you'd have put a bullet in your head years ago, so that you could finally "Go ghost" and never have to come back from it." The reflection leaned in closer to the divide in the mirror, as if to make sure Danny could hear him. "You might think that I'm a monster now, Dan, but I'm at least trying to make the world better. You? The only reason you call yourself a king is because we both know you're no hero anymore. And I'd rather be a monster than a coward."

After the god's outburst, nothing but silence hung in the room between the two men.

"…There's really nothing I can say to make you stop this, is there?" Danny said, a small touch of sorrow in his voice.

The God of Magic was silent for moment. "…No. I guess there isn't." He told him, his words showing the closest thing to regret the man had in these few short minutes.

The reflection's body moved to start mimicking Danny's own again, telling the ghost that the man was ending the spell.

"…But I'll still make good on my promise, Dan." The God of Magic said before he faded away. "When I finally fix the world, I will bring your wife back. Just so she can say that I was right and how ashamed of you she's been for not seeing this through to the end."

The blue melted away from the eyes of the reflection, leaving Danny simply staring at himself alone in his room.

"…It's not that I didn't want you to be right, Tim." He admitted to the empty air around him as he wiped his chin, feeling so tired.

* * *

"Ugh. Finally." The Scotsman sighed after tossing back on the last mound of unearthed dirt, taking the moment to lean tiredly against the shovel he stole. "I tell ya, laddie. Underworld soil, if ya can even call it that. Plum useless, it is. Cannot be used ta grow nothin' an' you'd be better off diggin' wit dynamite half the time, fer as good as either 'ill get ya. Would have buried ya up in the mortal world if I knew the way back."

The Scotsman tossed the shovel aside, no longer needing it, and watched with no surprise as long mound of freshly re-buried earth started to rapidly dry out, becoming just as cracked and lifeless as the rest of the rocky and jagged landscape around it. Were it not for the large boulder that the Scotsman had rolled to sit at the head of the grave there'd have no way to pick this spot out from any of its surroundings. A large boulder upon which had a single word crudely chiseled out upon its surface. _"Jack"_

"Ah, I miss mah gun leg." The Scotsman remarked, looking down sadly at the wooden peg still jabbed into his stump, the blood from the area having long dried. "The pen mightier than the sword. Feh! Give me enough bullets an' I can do the job of both like an artist! Could'a wrote out an entire eulogy fer ya on this hunk a useless rock! AHAHAHAHA! Ahhh…"

The Scotsman then, whether intentionally or because he could yet think of what to say, observed a moment of silence.

"I'll be goin' back ta Aku City ta get yer sword back from the big baby, don't ya worry, laddie." He said to the grave. "I'd bury it wit' ya but I can only imagine the number a grave robbers around here who'd love ta disturb yer peace just ta steal it. So I'll hang onta it fer ya. Least until I can find a place where I know them and Aku can never get their hands on it again. That sound alright wit' you, laddie?"

The Scotsman stayed quiet, as if expecting to hear some kind of answer from the grave. When a minute passed and none was heard, the Scotsman sighed.

"Ya know, there's this old Celtic legend that I read about when findin' out more about the history of the runes on mah sword here." The Scotsman said, gesturing to the blade sheathed on his back. "A legend about great warriors who died in battle and then rose back up from it. Ancient Celtic magic that allowed those who were great enough ta keep fightin' the good fight! Always thought the story sounded like a bunch a hooey, personally. But it is something nice ta think about whenever I think of me wee girls back home chargin' inta battle without me there. That even if they died or I did I'd still be able ta see them again. I don't suppose your culture had any sort of legends like that, did they laddie?"

Still no answer, though not that he expected much of one this time, turning away from the grave to start heading back to Aku City.

But then he stopped, almost able to feel the shadow that had cast itself over him from above. Turning back around quickly and looking up, the Scotsman watched in awe as a lone figure descended down from the red sky, her golden armored dress and plume of purple flame carving her appearance out from the landscape quite vividly. She landed before the Scotsman gracefully and tapped the butt of her spear against the ground as one of her four blue arms held the weapon at her side peacefully. Not that he paid much attention to it. The Scotsman, whom was a very large man in his own right, was more focused on the fact that his eyes only came up to about the woman's waist, forcing him to tilt his head up quite a bit to see the ghost's face.

"…Laddie, I don't mean ta be one ta judge but this was not a look I was expectin' from ya." The Scotsman said, his tone a bit awkward. "Was there somethin' ya haven't been tellin' me?"

Pandora's Ghost raised a confused eyebrow at the man. "I…feel there is something of a misunderstanding here." She said to him. "You are the famed Scotsman, yes? My name is Pandora. I am the keeper of…er…the _former_ keeper of the box of all the world's evils."

"Never heard of ye." The Scotsman said bluntly, crossing his arm.

"Yes, I imagine we travel in different mythological circles." She remarked as she looked behind her to the marked grave. "I take it that is where you buried the remains of your friend, the samurai?"

"What's it to ya?" The Scotsman asked defensively.

"Please. I don't not wish to start a fight." Pandora's Ghost said, holding up one of her hands to ask that he please calm himself. "I've been sent at the request of my masters, the Grim Reaper and Queen Mandy. Their son, Grim Jr, whom you've already met, told them about what happened in Aku's palace and what was done to your friend. I am very sorry for your loss, warrior."

"Appreciated." The Scotsman said with no change in his gruff tone. "But I take it yer thin twig of a queen did not send ya all the way out ta this dry dump just ta send me a sympathy card, did they?"

Reluctantly, the ghost did shake her head, knowing where this was likely to go. "No. I've been given the task of collecting the samurai's remains so that those at the castle may study this new ragdoll method that was used to revive him." She told him.

"Yeah, that ain't gonna happen." The Scotsman stated outright with a glare of warning.

"This is not up for debate." Pandora's Ghost told him, adding strength to her words but still making the attempt to be diplomatic. "We need to understand what was done to him so that we can be prepared in case our enemies have created more of like him."

"My buddy has earned his rest and he doesn't need more people pokin' at and defilin' his corpse even further!" The Scotsman jabbed his finger at the giant woman.

"A corpse is just a corpse! What do you mortals not understand about that?" Pandora's Ghost asked, the man really starting to test her patience. "If your friend's soul was still in that body, then it would still be moving, which you most certainly would have noticed while you were burying him. And even if he was not a ragdoll, the fate of the body after death means nothing in regards to the fate of the soul!"

"And I'm just supposed ta take yer word fer that?" The Scotsman asked back, practically spitting his question. "Fer all I know, yer workin' with the people who turned my friend inta that stitched up husk and are lookin' ta bring him back again!"

"How dare you!" The ghost finally snapped at him, cracking the ground beneath her spear as she slammed its butt down in anger. "The enemies who turned your friend into a mindless puppet did the same to me! They stripped me of my free will and set me against my own creators! They violated my mind and my existence just like they did to him! How dare you suggest I'm in league with such filth!"

"Then you should understand why I'm not gonna take the chance that someone's gonna do all that ta my friend again!" The Scotsman stated stubbornly, not backing down.

The ghost's eye gave a visible twitch in irritation and she'd finally become fed up with the man. "Enough debate!" She declared, turning defiantly to the grave. "I tried to be respectful and get you to see reason, but now I am taking the choice out of your hands!" She said as her hand became intangible and reached down through the dry dirt to fetch the body underneath.

"Like a shepherd's bawbag ya are!" The Scotsman shouted as he immediately drew out his sword and lunged forward with it to attack the ghost.

Pandora showed no fear towards the mortal's attack, swiping outward with her spear to intercept him while she continued her work. However, when the blade did connect with the staff of her weapon, it did so with such a tremendous force that Pandora suddenly found herself being pushed back! Her body being tossed away from the grave before her phasing fingers could even touch upon the samurai's body.

Wanting to make sure he continued driving her away from the grave, the Scotsman dove at her again. Not allowing herself to be taken by surprise again, Pandora kept all four hands upon her spear as she moved the weapon to block the Scotsman's repeated strikes. This time she lost no ground from his blows, though the uncanny speed which with the beefy man fought made Pandora's task of blocking the many swings all the more difficult.

Still, she was a skilled and patient fighter, and when an opening presented itself to her, she was more than able to make use of it, thrusting her spear out hard after deflecting a slash to the side. She would have skewered her opponent right through the chest had he not brought his sword up just in time, causing the broadside of the blade to take the hit from the spear's tip. No harm was done to the Scotsman's body but the woman's strength behind her weapon was easily enough to push the man back by the full length of the spear.

Pandora pulled back her weapon and steadied it again in her hands. "I'm impressed." She admitted as she watched the Scotsman take the moment to breathe as well. "There are not many weapons a mortal can wield that are capable to doing battle with ghosts."

"Magic runes there, lassie." The Scotsman said proudly, pointing at the glowing symbols embedded in his sword before they faded away. "Now, are you finally going be off wit' cha, or are ya going get ta fightin'?!"

Initially shocked by the man's boisterous attitude, Pandora did feel a smile slowly creeping across her face. "I suppose I have been looking for an outlet for my anger over my previous failure." She remarked, twirling the staff of her spear around in her hands before holding its point out strongly at her opponent.

"Now that's the spirit!" The Scotsman cried with his wide toothy grin. "If I'm gonna be beatin' yer head in, at least make it worth me time!"

Pandora let out the roar of battle, one fierce enough to honor the war gods of both Athena and Ares. The Scotsman did the same and both warriors charged at the other.

* * *

Holding out her arm like she was asked, Daniela stayed seated atop the white sheets of the castle's infirmary bed while Junior dipped the washcloth in the bowl of water sitting beside him. "Jeez. You opened up your stiches." He said as looked over the old wound, taking the rag to her human form's skin and gently cleaning off some of the blood. In truth, Daniela hadn't even noticed it until now, as her body was just a mass of soreness all over. In all honesty, even if she had taken notice of the red that was leaking out over her arm she probably wouldn't have reacted much to it, as it was her pounding head, now thankfully bandaged up around her forehead, that was taking up most of her attention right now.

Junior wiped away as much of the blood as he could to get a better look at the wound. Though he knew that could only work so well as more blood just continued to slowly leak out. It caused him great frustration, knowing there was nothing he could do other than just more stitches to help her. His sister had received her cut from a Reaper's scythe. It was never going to heal and Junior didn't know how to change that.

Holding out his finger, his Nergal flesh at its tip stretched out into a string like it had before. The small hook at the string's end made its first incision onto Daniela's skin, her body thankfully being too exhausted to have much of a painful reaction. The string moved along to patch her up and that's when the memories quickly flashed through Junior's mind. His claw coated in green blood as something under him screamed. The feeling of the limp, lifeless limb in between his teeth, the taste of ectoplasm spilling onto his tongue.

 _"ELTROS!" Walker screamed._

Junior's head gave a quick spasm to shake himself out of these thoughts, which Daniela noticed. "Junior? Are you alright?" She asked with worry.

Forcing the memories away from his mind, Junior said "Y-yeah…yeah, I'm fine. Just…tired, that's all."

The way Daniela looked at him, Junior could tell she wasn't quite sure whether to believe that or not. Though Junior was more focused on what he saw in the corner of his eye.

"I said I'm fine, buckethead." Junior said without turning around to the Fright Knight, catching him just before he would have left his post at the door and walked over to them. "And unless you're going to suddenly be medically useful, probably wouldn't need you if I wasn't."

The Fright Knight shot a glare at the back of the Reaper's head. "I'd watch my ungrateful tone if I were you, whelp." He told him with warning. "You have only been granted access to this infirmary due to my master's generous nature. Take care that I do not convince him to rescind that generosity, as well as this temporary truce that keeps me from running my sword through your skull."

"Yeah, because that worked out so well for you in round one." Junior remarked offhandedly as he got back to work on Daniela's new stiches. The Fright Knight's fist curled in anger but he remembered his vows and swallowed his pride, going back to stand guard silently at the door.

Daniela looked guiltily between the knight and her brother. "Junior…I know you're angry, but please don't take it out on those who don't deserve it." She said to him, her sad tone making it clear that she knew who his anger should really be focused on.

Junior stayed silent for a long minute, working stone-faced as the living string continued its incisions and pulls.

"…Chasing after me was an incredibly stupid thing for you to do, Daniela." Junior finally spoke, though still not looking up from the stiches. "You could have gotten killed. Or worse."

"In fairness, I did not chase after you when you left." She spoke up. "I found you here completely by accident."

Junior shot her a glare, clearly not in the mood for technicalities. Finally having stitched his sister up enough for him to break off the string, Junior asked "So what exactly were you doing in the Ghost Zone when you happened upon me?"

Taking a moment to focus herself, Daniela held up her hand and opened a small portal of about the same size to stick it in through, pulling out a new roll of bandages that'd been across the room. It did lighten Daniela's heart a bit to see that her brother was both surprised and impressed at the trick in spite of himself.

"Well…that certain explains how you got here without stealing Scythe 2.0 again." He remarked as he took the offered bandages from her so that he could begin wrapping them around her arm. "When did you learn how to do that?"

"I started piecing together how to do it after seeing your friend Dan-….after seeing my father do it so we could get to the Domain of Death." She said, after a moment of making up her mind about what to say, her encounter with the Ghost King and what he said being remembered very vividly.

Junior stopped what he was doing. Looking up at her, he could see it in the way her eyes went off to the side to avoid his that she was very unsure about how to feel about this particular information. About as unsure as he was for what to say about it now.

"Figured that out, did ya?" He asked her through the awkwardness in the air, looking back down and going back to wrapping the bandage.

Daniela nodded. "He was very vocal about it during the part of the castle attack you weren't there for." She explained.

"Yeah, that sounds like Dan." Junior sighed with looking back up.

A moment of pure silence passed between the two, long enough for Junior to finish his wrappings and cut the end off from the rest of the roll. As Junior gently patted the cloth down to make sure it stayed together, he finally spoke again. "Are you angry with me for not telling you?" He asked her.

Daniela needed a moment to think about it before she answered him. "No…I mean…I don't think so." She told him honestly. "Yes, I've wondered in the past whom mine and Manny's birth father was but mother never put much importance on the subject and I guess I just never gave it that much thought because of that."

Junior rubbed the back of his neck with a small groan, as he wasn't sure what to tell her. "Dan is…well, I'd like to say complicated but in truth it's kind of the exact opposite. He's an asshole who doesn't really give a damn about anything. Not even himself I suspect sometimes. He's great for a carefree fight, or in mom's case a carefree night, but otherwise… I think you and Manny deserve to know who he is but I will always believe you're better off not getting involved with him."

"I'm inclined to believe you, given what just happened to the both of us by just meeting an alternate version of him." Daniela said, commenting more on her injuries than her brother's, which had all but vanished at this point.

Junior looked up and blinked at her words in surprise. "…You know, I always figured you were going to be the smartest of all our siblings." He remarked to her with a small chuckle he couldn't hold back.

"In fairness, both these revelations had to be blatantly explained to me so that I actually got it." She admitted to him.

"Yeah, well, don't be too hard on yourself about that. You'd be amazed how often the obvious is not easy to spot." Junior tried to assure her. "Even I didn't figure out the Ghost King's connection to Dan until he hit me with that Ghostly Wail and I'm actually very familiar with what Dan's soul feels like."

"If it helps any, I doubt there are many others who are aware of this knowledge either." Daniela said. "During the week I was in the Ghost Zone I never even heard anyone mention a Ghost King, let alone the identity of one. The few ghosts I've talked to or eavesdropped on were all afraid of Warden Walker and his son."

"Yeah, from what I've heard about our resident royal Snow White, he likes to keep to himself so he and Walker have some weird unspoken truce going on between-" Junior cut off his own words, as what his sister had just said finally fully been heard in his head. "Wait…a week?" He asked, getting the same look of odd confusion from Daniela as he was giving her. "What are you talking about, a week? Daniela, I've only been gone a couple of days."

Daniela looked at him like he was crazy. "What? No. I checked back on the Domain of Death as often as I could because it was the only way I could tell how many days had passed in this realm. It's definitely been more than-!"

Both were suddenly alerted to the sound of shifting brick and Junior instantly bolted up to place himself defensively between Daniela and the area of the infirmary's wall the slid its various parts out of the way so that Danny may enter. The only one who seemed unsurprised by this unusual entrance was the Fright Knight, whom simply bowed to his king while still keeping his post at the actual door.

Danny looked over at the sibling pair at the beds, Junior's guard relaxed only slightly upon seeing him, which the ghost was not surprised by. Taking the moment to check that the Reaper had indeed finished tending to his sister's wounds, as the bandages would suggest, Danny finally spoke. "Junior, I need to talk to you."

Junior eyed the Ghost King cautiously. "About what?" He asked.

"I'd like to talk to you in private." Danny stated, gesturing for Junior to follow him. "As I'm sure you'd prefer, once you hear what I have to say." He added before Junior could argue with him.

Junior raised a suspicious eyebrow at the ghost. He glanced over to Daniela as she looked up at him. She clearly did not want him to go but it was a sign of her impressive maturity that she gave him a permissive nod of her head, probably suspecting like he did the importance of the Ghost King's sudden change in mind.

After giving his sister a nod back, Junior held his hand out at the floor and a mass of tentacles spread out and formed a canine sized, almost meatball-like mass that separated off from the rest of his body. It sprouted three legs out of its bottom and four arms out of its sides, with two green eyes peering out through what almost looked like a domino mask on its face, just above a very wide maw of tiny sharp teeth.

"Glomulus, stay." Junior ordered the bizarre little alien he'd birthed from his body. The creature made a slew of very quick, gremlin-ish noises but the salute it gave with one of its hands seemed to indicate it would obey. Leaving the creature at his sister's bedside, Junior walked over to the Ghost King but shot a look over to the Fright Knight. "Don't try anything funny." He warned him.

"Like I would bother." The knight stated back simply.

Danny lead the way out and Junior followed along, the wall properly reforming itself upon their leave to return the room to only one entrance.

Daniela and the Fright Knight looked down at Glomulus, whom stood protectively over her between them, despite barely coming up to the knight's knee. The creature growled like a small dog at the Fright Knight and the ghost raised a very questioning eyebrow at the sight.

* * *

Junior followed closely behind the Ghost King as they ascended upwards through the castle, the floors and ceilings moving on their own out of the way as to not impede their flight.

"So am I right in assuming this big, mysterious thing meant only for my ears that you want to talk to me about has some kind of visual aid to go along with it?" Junior asked tonelessly to Danny from behind. "I'm only guessing because we've put enough space between us and any eavesdroppers about three floors ago and you seem to be heading somewhere in particular."

Danny said nothing back and just continued on path.

"Well?" Junior asked again.

"…I think I finally get why all my enemies hated how much I used to talk back in the day." Danny remarked without looking back.

After a grunt from Junior, the last ceiling finally opened up and Danny stopped his flight on the floor above it, which was a small hallway that led to a single wooden door. By the feel of it, Junior figured they were in the tallest tower of the Pariah's Keep, and given the thick feeling of ecto-energy emanating off the walls, it was possibly one of the most protected ones too.

When the floor finally closed behind them as they were both up top, Danny stood between Junior and the door, needing to say something to him first before they entered. "Do you remember what I said to you earlier? My advice about just leaving this whole mess behind you and getting as far away as possible?"

"Yeah?" Junior said.

"…Just keep it in mind during what you're about to hear." Danny told him.

Junior was silent for a moment. "Sure thing." He said simply, the Ghost King able to tell the Reaper would do anything but. He supposed he couldn't blame Junior for not being willing to abandon his family, even if it was Mandy. But perhaps that was simply because he didn't know any better. Yet.

Turning away from him, Danny opened up the door, leading the way into the darkened room inside.

The breeze created by the door closing nearly blew out the candle sitting on the nightstand, aka, the only source of light in the entire room and a fairly dim one at that. The room was small enough that Junior could take everything in at first glance, which in this case was just the barebones bookshelves and a bed with some very old sheets on it.

Or at least, what Junior had thought at first to be sheets until the figure under them slid shakily off the bed and they went with him, showing that it was actually a long black cape, the inside being a very faded red Junior saw as the figure turned to see them. The rest of the ghost's outfit didn't look much better. What was probably once a very pristine and flowing white uniform now looked like it'd been worn for years without change or even care to what happened to it, as it looked ready to just about rot off the ghost's very slender green form.

"My…my king?" The ghost asked weakly, holding up his hand as if even the dim candlelight was too bright for him to take. "The castle…the castle, it was moving. Why was it moving?! There was…there was this this blackness everywhere! Just outside the door! I kept it out but it kept trying to get in! It was after me!"

"Appatu. Appatu, calm down." Danny motioned to the trembling ghost gently, trying to get him to relax. "It's okay. I took care of it and it wasn't what you think."

The green ghost looked with his shaking bald head at the king, keeping contact with his gaze to help convince himself that he was right. "I…I thought it was…I thought he'd come for me." The ghost mouthed frightfully, though in the darkness Junior couldn't see any mouth move. "I…I could feel the castle moving on its own. I thought that if anyone could make that just happen it'd be…it'd…be…"

The ghost's words started to trail off as his head tilted upwards and he finally noticed Junior standing behind the king.

"No…" The ghost uttered in a hushed tone. A massive contrast to what came next as he fell back against the wall screaming for his afterlife, knocking over the bookshelf and nightstand in his panic as he practically tried to crawl his way into the brick to get away. "NO! NO, PLEASE! PLEASE, NOT ME TOO!" He cried out in nothing less than pure horror, grabbing at the bed's mattress and trying desperately to pry it off the frame and throw it in front of himself. "PLEASE, I'M SORRY! I CAN'T TAKE IT BACK! NONE OF US COULD! PLEASE!"

Danny immediately rushed over and fell to his knees to be on level with the ghost. "Appatu! Appatu, listen to me!" He yelled, ignoring the ghost's scratches and panicking fists against his body and forcefully holding the ghost head between his hands so that he'd stop flailing around. "Appatu, look again! It's not him! He's not here! Look again!"

The ghost greatly resisted doing so, struggling with all his might to keep looking away. Though thanks to the flames of the Ghost King's crown, Junior could now finally get a better look at him. Not that there was much to look at, to the Reaper's shock, as what he'd thought to be a face in the dim light was now revealed to be a single large eyeball, kept suspended inside the ghost's "head" if you could call it that by the transparent green goo that made up its form; Junior able to see the eye's many red veins along its back as the ghost refused to look anywhere near him.

Finally, Danny was successful in forcing the ghost to look again at Junior and once his panic started to die down, the ghost did finally actually see Junior for what he was and his body started to calm. "He's not…he's not…?" The ghost looked helplessly up at Danny.

Danny shook his head. "No. He's not here, Appatu." He said as he carefully let the ghost go once he was sure he wasn't going to start freaking out again. "This is Grim Jr. He's on our side."

The ghost's single eye looked up and down Junior's form, his body with still a slight tremble to it. "Son of…son of Mandy…" He spoke softly with a small point of his finger, giving Junior a bit of surprise at him knowing who he was. The ghost looked like he hadn't even seen his own reflection in years, much less anything outside of this room.

Danny nodded. "That's right. And Clockwork's old friend Grim." He added, getting the ghost to turn to him and give him a confused look. But soon the ghost got the message through the king's eyes and said nothing more.

As Danny stood back up and the ghost crawled his way up off of the floor and onto the bed, Junior finally asked "Who…or what…is he?"

"This is Appatu." Danny answered as he watched the ghost's shaky form sit on the old mattress. "He's an Observant, or to be more accurate, he's the last of the Observants. There used to be more. Thousands more. And I'll bet you can guess what happened to them all."

"The God of Magic." Junior said, stating the obvious.

Appatu's head jerked up at the name and his eye started looking around the room frantically.

"Easy, Appatu." Danny said, placing a hand on the ghost's shoulder, trying to calm him down again. "Yeah. Him. And it there's anyone who can tell you more about him than me, it's Appatu."

Appatu looked up at the king with great worry. "You…you want me to tell him?"

Danny nodded. "He needs to know just how dangerous Tim is, so that he can make the right decision."

The Observant looked back and forth between his king and the Reaper, his internal struggle over what to do quite apparent to Junior. "What…how much should I say?" Appatu asked Danny.

"Just start at the beginning and keep talking. I'll chime in whenever I think it's needed." Danny told him, removing his hand from the ghost's shoulder and stepping back to give him some space.

For over a few solid minutes, Appatu said nothing, continuously working up the nerve to speak and then losing it almost immediately. It tested Junior's patience slightly to be kept teasingly waiting like this, but as he could still feel Glomulus downstairs and a lack of any distress in Daniela's soul, he dealt with it as he was in no hurry.

Appatu finally looked up at him. "Have you…have you seen the God of Magic in person yet?" He stuttered, especially when he had to say the name. "Have you met him?"

Junior shook his head. "No. Not yet. Just some of his flunkies."

Appatu gave a weak nod. "Yes, well…unfortunately, I cannot consider myself as lucky. Nor can any of my fallen brothers." He said, rubbing his eye tiredly. "…That is because…as I'm sure it is said…as I'm sure that you too will say…that we are the ones to blame for unleashing this mad god upon the realms. That it was our arrogance and judgement that are to blame for creating him…"

Junior felt Danny shift uncomfortably next to him; guilt of a similar kind emanating off his features.

"Young Reaper…" Appatu asked. "Have you ever heard of a man named Timmy Turner?"

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** So, as a few of you may have guessed from the delay of this chapter, I've come into a bit of a busier schedule lately and thus will not be able to upload as frequently as I've been able to with the last few chapters. I'll still do what I can to avoid long month-long gaps like those that've happened in the past but I make no promises. Regardless, I still must thank everyone for their patience with me.

And speaking of things a good number of people already figured out: Timmy Turner, the apparent God of Magic. I know it's a bit of an obvious choice but I do believe in this saying I once heard on a video about the Matrix movies, where it's better to have an obvious twist than one that doesn't make any sense, and there were plenty of options I could have used for the latter. But exactly how much of his backstory gets revealed? Well, that's something to see for next time, isn't it?

By the way, Appatu is a reference to Uatu the Watcher from Marvel Comics and Appa Ali Apsa, one of the Guardians of the Universe from DC Comics. I like to think it makes sense if you know what either alien races are like and how they compare to the Observants.

Also, I'm genuinely curious how many here know where Glomulus comes from, or will be able to guess why Junior has him.

And the Fright Knight's true name of Sir Michael is a reference to the actor who voiced him on the show, Michael Dorn. Just fun addition I decided to throw in there because why not?

* * *

 **QTP:** What are Dan and the Boogieman planning? Will Pandora's Ghost be able to retrieve Samurai Jack's remains or will the Scotsman be able to fight her off? Why did Appatu freak out when he saw junior? Will Danny tell Junior that the God of Magic is his father? And what do the Observants have to do with the God of Magic?


	19. Perceived sins of the past

**Part 19: Perceived sins of the past**

 **Brave2000:** Yeah, I actually had the same reaction when the Timmy theory was going about who Junior's birth father is. Honestly, it's hard for me to imagine Mandy getting with most on that particular theory list, including Danny, HIM, and even Billy (which, I'll say right now, is never going to happen in one of my stories. I have never liked the Billy X Mandy ship).

 **DPSS:** Yeah, but considering Mandy, Aku, and HIM, most of the big realm rulers don't tend to care much for chit-chat unless they're getting something out of it. Plus Danny's probably still on edge from Vlad cloning him in the past (at least 4 or 5 times I believe).

1.) Of course.

2.) Hell yeah!

3.) Pretty much.

4.) Good guess.

5.) Ohhh, you have no idea how accurate that is.

 **Deadpool517:** Thank you, and I am greatly enjoying all the reactions I'm seeing to Timmy being Junior's birth father.

 **desdelor97:** Thank you.

 **Algremnon:** 1.) Most likely.

2.) In fairness, neither of them have probably eaten anything in a while, so that's not outside the realm of possibility.

3.) Yep.

4.) Very much yep.

 **Valtek:** Yes, thankfully the tooth thing wasn't something Junior inherited from him.

 **AMTT94:** Glad you like the reveal.

Yeah, humans are much more like ghosts when in the ghost zone, but I imagine that advantage has its limits. They're safe from physical harm (usually), but Danny, Tucker, and Sam still needed the Fenton ship to fly them around, so who knows what'd happen if they fell off one of the many floating islands. They might be falling forever.

Don't worry, I do still have plans for both Jack and Danny. As well as where Timmy's new power is coming from.

 **Guest:** Thank you.

 **DarkDremora:** Thank you. I hope this chapter can continue to keep this good will going.

1.) Actually, have of your guess is pretty close to what's going to happen.

2.) We'll see (hee).

3.) Exactly right.

4.) Though whether Mandy ever would remains to be seen, as it still hasn't been shown yet why she hasn't told Junior anything.

5.) Very negative.

 **nightmaster000:** I am glad people for the most part seem to be liking the Timmy Turner reveal. I actually was worried about it initially when I decided to do this story.

1.) Given what's to come, that'll be an interesting reign, for however long it lasts.

2.) More of the latter.

3.) Correct.

4.) Also doesn't help that he doesn't know what the God of Magic's plans are for Junior in the first place.

5.) Pretty accurate guess, actually.

 **Guest:** That's the thing, isn't it? How far can a hero fall before you stop calling them a hero?

 **Guest:** You know, I have thought of a Junior meeting Steven story before, but you do make a good point that Mimi would be a better fit for that kind of story. I'll have to give this more thought. Thank you.

 **Error Zai:** Hopefully I'll do a good job in explaining Timmy's fall as the story goes. Here's hoping! And I think I replied to your other post.

 **coldblue2015:** Cool. Glad to see you back.

 **Major144:** I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Hopefully I can keep up the quality. Now for your questions:

Directly speaking, Timmy learned it from Eris (more on that in later chapters).

That's the thing about HIM (at least in my stories): anyone he works with he's looking to betray and the smart ones usually already know that. So it's kind of a game to see who stabs who in the back first.

No, because the Gauntlet is still destroyed, but it was one of the things I'd considered having Timmy look for.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

"Timmy Turner?" Junior repeated the name. "Can't say that it rings any bells." He told the two ghosts honestly.

"No…I suppose I would not expect it to." Appatu said as he slid open the drawer to the nightstand and pulled out a small glass ball, the inside of which appeared to be filled with golden smoke. "We did everything we could to make sure that name would no longer mean anything…but I guess that will only hold out for so much longer…"

Junior recognized the ball in the Observant's skinny green fingers. "A Remembrance Orb?"

"Ah? You are familiar with these items?" Appatu asked as he floated up out of the bed to move towards the two men.

"Sort of. I knew a couple of bounty hunters who had some. They liked to use what it showed as proof of who owed them money." Junior told him.

"I see. Well, I suppose that's not far off from how we used them." Appatu said, his gaze seemingly lost in the ball's smoke. "We Observants, the most ancient of orders within the Ghost Zone. Our task to watch over all of time. Past, present, and future. And at first, our oath was to do simply that. To watch. But as we foresaw greater and greater threats on the horizon, we pushed that oath to its very limits. We acted as judge and jury, while others would be our executioners, and the Remembrance Orbs often being the proofs we showed to convince them."

"If they needed it." Junior commented. "I imagine Clockwork had the ability to see a bit further than you guys did, otherwise Dan wouldn't be here. …The Dan I know, not you." Junior quickly added, looking to the Ghost King. "Your evil, could-have, probably-won't future self."

"I get it." Danny stated impatiently, rolling his hand to signal Appatu to hurry up.

The Observant held the orb timidly in his hand. "…You have to understand…we only did what we thought we had to do." He said so pleadingly to Junior. "We've witnessed countless disasters throughout history. All we wanted was to prevent another one."

"Done with the best of intentions. Got it." Junior nodded uncaringly. "Because there's never been a story where that's horribly backfired, has there?" He added sarcastically under his breath.

The one-eyed ghost giving another look of guilt to Danny, Appatu finally gave the orb a squeeze, causing the smoke inside to start glowing. As the light slipped out from between his finger, a pulse of energy cascaded out from it across the room, feeling almost like a heavy fog or an odd layer of slime as it enveloped the three.

Around them the darkened room started to dramatically reshape, expanding several hundred times in size until it became an almost literal amphitheater, with every one of the thousand seats circled around them occupied by another ghost that looked exactly as Appatu did. Given the dramatic change in location, Junior would almost have thought they'd all been transported, were it not that he could still feel the presence of Glomulus downstairs, the skittish creature undisturbed by any grand movement from the castle. Thus, this was all just an illusion.

"This is the Observant's High Council Tribunal Headquarters." Appatu told them as they stood in the very center of the court, with not a single one of the many Observants seeming to notice the group. "I believe…I believe this to be as good a day as any to explain how… how the God of Magic came to be..."

Looking over to the ghost, Junior noticed now how longing Appatu was in his looks at all the other Observants around them, and just how much more beaten down he was in comparison. The energy creating this illusion gave everything in the memory an odd gold tint to it, much like that of the smoke's, but it served well enough to light the amphitheater up and show off just how clean and well-kept the other Observant's uniforms were. And while they all floated above their seats with their spines so stiff that Junior was almost 90% certain they couldn't sit even if they wanted to, Appatu was practically hunched over, with his eye repeatedly casting itself down to the ground after sneaking peaks at his many brothers, almost like he was ashamed to even be in their illusion's presence.

" _He has arrived."_ Junior was startled by the voice that suddenly echoed throughout the court. Looking up, he took notice of what he hadn't before; the several large circular screens hung up around the area, each broadcasting another Observant. Though these ones also looked exactly like all the others Junior could see, it didn't take much for him to figure they were of some higher rank than the many ghosts seated in the nosebleeds around them.

Nearby where the three stood, a large set of double-doors opened up and through them a very impressive man walked in. Junior, being a skeleton like his father and uncle Jack, was taller than most others he knew, comfortably over six feet. This man was at least a head or two over him and would probably take at least two or three of Junior to even begin to match the raw muscle behind his army-camo top. Just one of his biceps was bigger than the Reaper's entire head and he was surprised the man's combat boots were not creating imprints into the floor with how much force he stepped. The two armored Observant guards whom lead the man to the court's center looked at each other nervously, no doubt thinking that the eye-scepters in their hands looked like toothpicks in comparison to the practical war hammer he was carrying, only with a large star on its end instead of the traditional mallet.

"Wait…I think I kind of recognize that guy." Junior said, the star seeming to spark something in his head.

"Jorgen Von Strangle." Danny told Junior without looking away from the scene as the man finally stood at the center of all the Observants' attentions. "Trainer of all fairy godparents and the de facto big boss of Fairy World when the Fairy Council can't be bothered to get involved."

"Right. That's what it was." Junior snapped his fingers in remembrance. "Ms. Pataki forced me and my sister to memorize all the realm rulers and their histories when I was a kid. Given the literal thousands of realms connected to the Domain of Death and the rest of the afterlife, you can take a guess as to how much fun home schooling was." The Reaper remarked as he watched the fairy take the center stand. "…Wasn't there some big story about him unceremoniously retiring decades ago? How long before that is this memory?"

Danny didn't say anything.

"…Ah." Junior nodded, getting the idea.

As all the Observants in the stands quieted, the court went into session.

" _This has to end, Jorgen."_ Said one of the on-screen Observants as he looked down upon the wingless fairy.

" _The Fairy Council has already made its rulings and taken care of everything."_ Jorgen stated as his gaze did not falter away from the screen, his gruff, accented voice reminding Junior of a character in some 80's action movie his father once showed him.

" _The Fairy Council also tried to deliberately hide this incident from us."_ Another of the Observant High Council members pointed out, the accusation quite clear in his voice.

" _We didn't think it was important enough to bring up with you."_ Jorgen shrugged.

" _Not important enough?"_ The Observant scoffed.

" _Perhaps Mr. Von Strangle only feels this way because this is not the first time this particular godchild has gotten away with violating fairy law and breaking the rules."_ Another of the screened Observants suggested sarcastically, his familiar voice causing Junior to realize that this was the younger Appatu. _"How many times has the name Timmy Turner been uttered in these courts? How many times now has the Fairy Council sent you forth to us to justify their decisions to let Turner keep his godparents?"_

" _Turner is a…special case."_ Jorgen said, looking off to the side, clearly trying to find his words.

" _Clearly you seem to believe so."_ The original Observant speaker remarked. _"From what we understand, his attempt to undo the Fairy Council's ruling on his case was aided by both you and his at-the-time reassigned godparents."_

" _One of the wishes that was undone was a fairy infant born to his godparents. Are you going to try and condemn him for saving a baby from oblivion?"_ Jorgen asked, puffing out his chest in defiance.

" _No, but we do condemn the Fairy Council for rescinding its condemnation of the godchild, as his punishment had nothing to do with the fairy infant."_ The Observant declared. _"Timmy Turner, more than any other godchild, represents all the problem we Observants had with the fairies' choice to share their power with mortals."_

" _Right, I forgot. You'd rather just have us all explode from magical build-up. With no one to wish us back to normal, you puny cyclopes would probably never have to deal with us again."_ Jorgen pointed out with a harsh accusation.

" _You do not get to take that kind of tone with us, Jorgen."_ Another of the screened Observants said rather heatedly compared to the others. _"Not when Turner's allowance to keep his fairies after what he did means the Fairy Council has very knowingly broken the treaty between Fairy World and the other realms! What do you suppose will happen when word of this gets out to the likes of Heaven or Hell? There will be war!"_

A low rumble went through the courtroom as the voices of hundreds of Observants mixed together with talks of what such an event would mean, while Jorgen's stare up at the many screens did not falter an inch.

"Treaty?" Junior asked, turning to Danny and Appatu.

"How much do you know about fairy godparents?" Danny asked him.

"Just the basic stuff. They grant wishes to miserable kids." Junior said. "Actually used to have a pair of anti-fairies hanging around the castle until my dad was finally able to ward the assholes off with a truckload of salt. Can't remember what their names were off the top of my head."

Danny gave an odd, pent-up look off to the side, though thankfully Junior didn't seem to notice. "Yes, well, while it gets a bit messy where the anti-fairies and pixies are concerned, I'm sure you've known enough lords and ladies of the higher and lower realms and how fragile their egos and grips on power are. So you can probably guess how unhappy they'd be to have that power suddenly threatened by some random ten year old from the mortal realm a fairy decided to give its service to. The magic of fairies is relatively limited when it comes to using it for themselves, but the moment they started granting wishes for humans all the realms nearly spiraled into chaos and war because they knew how much power these kids now potentially had. At least, that's what Appatu and Pariah's old journals say." He added, looking over to Appatu, whom was staring up at his past self like a lost puppy.

"Thus this treaty?" Junior guessed.

Danny nodded his head. "Those rules the fairies have to follow had to come from somewhere and in comparison to a lot of other species, the Observants are a pretty neutral bunch, at least back in those days, so they were selected to negotiate a treaty with the first Fairy Council. The fairies could continue their symbiotic relationship with miserable mortal children and stay unexploded, so long as they took every step possible to minimize the impact the wishes could have on the other realms."

The younger Appatu of the memory raised his hand up and slowly the commotion of the court died down. _"Perhaps it would be best for us all to review this recent case, so that it's gravity can no longer be understated."_ He recommended solemnly. _"All in favor?"_

" _Aye."_ The near entirety of the amphitheater said in unison. From the ceiling above them, a giant glass eye lowered and a hologram projected itself down onto the floor from its pupil. Slowly the image phased into proper form, showing the large projection of a small child, dressed in a pink t-shirt and hat and sporting an enormous pair of buck teeth. Junior had nearly asked what the hell was wrong with the child's teeth, but then he noticed what was floating above his head; three blurred objects that the closet Junior could describe them as were puddles of gently swirling ink clouds.

"What the hell? Guys, do you see-?"

"Yep." Danny answered simply as he looked right up at them. "And before you ask, everyone else in this memory is seeing something different than we are."

Appatu lowered his head down into his palms, looking like he was about to cry.

" _On the day that Timmy Turner made his one millionth wish upon his fairy godparents, the fairy council uncovered that he had made a secret wish. Made secret by having it wiped away from Fairy World's records, as well as the memory of the fairy whom granted the wish."_ The past Appatu told the court. _"A secret wish that halted the aging of all existence, both on Earth and in the realms beyond it! Even to us Observants, we have been unknowingly trapped in an endless loop of time, for fifty years as Turner himself confessed to!"_

There were murmurs of conversation all throughout the court. Observants whispering to each other in hushed tones of disbelief and outrage.

" _The Fairy Council then made its ruling, following in line with the treaty."_ The past Appatu continued. _"All wishes Timmy Turner had ever made were undone. His godparents were stripped from him, as were all memories he had of them and the existence of fairies. …And yet, mere hours later after he'd been returned to the mortal plane, Timmy Turner found his way back to Fairy World and to his former fairies [retracted] and [retracted]."_

"Wait…what did he say?" Junior asked, roughly cleaning his ear out with his finger, his brain unable to process what it'd just heard. Or…didn't hear? Junior wasn't even sure if the past Appatu had actually said anything in those last three words or not.

" _And so, after he, his former godparents, and you, Mr. Von Strangle, ignored the council's ruling and journeyed to the land of unmade wishes to rescue the fairy infant known as [retracted], the Fairy Council then made a near full reversal of its decision and gave Timmy Turner back his fairies! In what way, Mr. Von Strangle, is this case anything less than a total breach of the treaty?"_

" _Uhhh…"_ Jorgen rubbed the back of his neck.

" _Jorgen, are you yourself not supposed to be the strictest of enforcers of Da Rules?"_ Another Observant in the stands asked the beefy fairy. _"Is Turner's secret wish alone not the greatest violation of fairy law and our treaty? He altered a very aspect of reality!"_

" _Uhhh…"_ Jorgen said, starting to sweat.

" _Indeed he did."_ A new voice suddenly echoed throughout the court, much to the many Observants' start. _"An aspect of reality that you are not in charge of protecting."_ Like he had always been there, a ghostly figure in a purple cloak suddenly appeared at Jorgen's side in-between the tick of two separate seconds. _"I believe that'd be my jurisdiction, yes?"_

Danny and the present-day Appatu were the only ones unsurprised to see this sudden appearance, as Junior joined with all the other Observants in their shock. "Clockwork?!"

Jorgen though seemed to be the only one happy to see the ghost. _"Clockwork? Oh, thank goodness. I thought the Fairy Council was going to send along that Father Time weirdo again."_

Jorgen held out his hand and Clockwork shook it like they were old friends, just as his form changed to his toddler self. _"Yes, sadly, I'm the one who introduced most of those jokes he loves to overuse to him. I suppose beings like us who exist in multiple points of time at once have a little trouble with moderation."_

" _Your presence was not requested for this hearing, Clockwork."_ The head speaker spoke up, the expression on his face (or lack thereof) was not of anger but more general unease, like the ghost's sudden appearance had thrown them all off.

" _Nor the presence of the accused, I can't help but notice."_ Clockwork pointed out, a long beard overtaking his features as he became an old man. " _I don't suppose our young friend Mr. Turner is even aware of how often the Observants have these courtroom dramas over him. You'll give Vortex a chance to defend himself but not a child?"_

" _There is a great deal of difference between the crimes of the two, Clockwork."_ The past Appatu stated with a small glare at the ghost of time. _"As well as the consequences they faced. Vortex is still imprisoned for the weather disruptions he created on Earth. Turner was given BACK his godparents after attempting to undo the Fairy Council's ruling. A ruling that was made because he knowingly altered the fabric of reality and hid the wish so deeply that no one, not even you, were aware that time was standing still for fifty years."_

" _Who said I was not aware of it?"_ Clockwork asked, a man in his prime folding his arms in a huff at the screens.

One could almost hear everyone's throats close in the immediate silence that followed that statement.

" _You…you knew?"_ The past Appatu asked, eye wide in disbelief.

" _Of course I did."_ Clockwork shrugged. _"I know everything. I say as much often enough."_

More silence. The Observants in the stands looked at each other. If they had mouths Junior imagined most of them would be hanging open, as no one knew what to say to that.

" _But then…how?"_ The head speaker asked, shaking his head in confusion. _"How could you of all people allow such an egregious act to go on for as long as it did?!"_

" _You and I seem to have very different definitions of egregious."_ Clockwork said, a toddler again. _"Timmy's wish did not affect my ability to do my job, as I could always just move to the minutes before and after the wish ended. And as we can see now, the wish did eventually end. The Fairy Council did indeed allow him back his fairies but the secret wish was still undone. Time moves along normally now. No harm done."_

" _Time was forcefully held in place for fifty years throughout all the realms, not just Earth. How can there be no consequences for such a thing happening?"_ The speaker asked.

" _I mean no disrespect to the High Council, but I do have a much better understanding of space-time than anyone here."_ Clockwork remarked, his old, wrinkled face smiling slyly, much to the irritation of the Observants in the stands and to the delight of Jorgen, who looked like he wanted to high-five him. _"I did not say that were no lasting effects due to the time stop. But any problems created are problems that I am taking care of, and thus I feel that my opinion should have a good deal of weight to it when I say that there is no need for all this fuss. This isn't the first time I've had to deal with Timmy messing with time, after all."_

" _But that's exactly the problem, Clockwork! This ISN'T the first time Timmy Turner has meddled with time, and given his history it is doubtful to be the last!"_ The past Appatu finally snapped at the ghost. _"What about when he wished for every day to be Christmas day?"_

" _The good Mr. Claus has already forgiven him for that and Timmy made the effort to make it up to him the following year by doing his sleigh run for him."_ Clockwork responded simply.

" _What about when he wished himself back in time to interfere in his teacher's childhood and cost him his own fairies?"_

" _And changed absolutely nothing about the world as a result, as the timeline he was poofed into was one where he'd always been meant to go back in time."_ Clockwork pointed out. _"Wasn't the first paradox I've had to handle. If memory serves, this very High Council once made a request of me to make a change in time very much like what Timmy attempted, thus the living paradox currently sitting inside a thermos on my living room table."_

There was an awkward look shared among the Observants in the stands, as they could not exactly deny doing such a thing.

" _That is a false equivalence, Clockwork."_ The head speaker said. _"We've watched over past, present, and future for nearly as long as there has been a Ghost Zone. We have sworn oaths to never directly interfere or ask others to do so for us unless absolutely necessary. We understand the risks. Timmy Turner is just a child who messed with time on a whim."_

" _And yet, still changed less about its flow than you have."_ Clockwork smiled slyly, the return to his prime age making his features look more smug than he likely meant them to be.

" _How about the disasters Turner has caused outside of the interference of time then, Clockwork?"_ The past Appatu dared the ghost to explain. _"How do you talk your way around the event known in council's records as the Abra-catastrophe? The event where the magic rule-free muffin YOUR Fairy Council gave him,"_ He pointed harshly at Jorgen. _"And that the Observant's High Council never even knew existed until that day, allowed for this Mr. Crocker, an adult whom should not even know of the existence of fairies, to enslave two of them and take control of the entire mortal realm and every aspect of its reality! How do you, Clockwork, attempt to justify letting Turner keep his fairies after his carelessness allowed such a disaster to occur?"_

" _Simple."_ Clockwork said simply. _"While Timmy's carelessness may have caused the muffin to fall into the wrong hands, it was not the Fairy Council or me or even this council who fixed the problem, but Timmy himself. Without any outside help and even risking [retracted] and [retracted] being taken away from him forever just to free them from Denzel's control. You have to admit, it shows a great deal of the boy's character and wit."_

" _Timmy Turner's character is not relevant to this debate."_ The past Appatu stated.

" _Timmy Turner's character is the point of this debate!"_ Jorgen shouted, slamming the butt of his wand against the floor with his declaration and causing the entire amphitheater to shake, causing the Observants in the stands to give a jump _. "You keep going on and on about how you can't understand way the Fairy Council gave Turner back his fairies after breaking Da Rules! Well, Turner's character is why! He risked his own existence staying behind in the Land of the Unwished just so the rest of us could make it back to reality with [retracted]! The only reason he made his secret wish in the first place was so that he could keep [retracted] and [retracted] for as long as possible! More than any other godchild, his godparents and godbrother are more his family than they are his fairies. The Fairy Council could see that. Perhaps because unlike you puny sticks, they actually used the many eyes they have. Not to mention that every case you've brought up against him was one he personally took upon himself to fix."_

Clockwork's toddler head gave a proud nod. _"Well said, Jorgen."_

" _That still is not the point."_ The head speaker stated loudly. _"Da Rules were created for a reason by the treaty. To prevent the abuse of magical power. Regardless of how noble Timmy Turner's character may be, the fact remains the Fairy Council has been criminally lenient in its punishment to him for breaking Da Rules and repeatedly endangering all of reality."_

" _I can't help but notice the High Council is conveniently leaving out the final safeguard that is noted in the treaty."_ Clockwork said, stroking his beard. _"The safeguard that applies to nearly all magic, especially pure magic like that which the fairies use. I assume everyone here knows what I'm referring to, yes?"_ He addressed the room. _"That what comes easily through magic can be just as easily undone by the same magic. There are hundreds of other mistakes Timmy has made that I'm glad to see the High Council has not brought up. Because with just the simple words of "I wish I never made this wish." and the problem is solved. True, stopping time for fifty years is certainly a grand and dangerous wish. But a simply ruling from the Fairy Council, and everything returned to how it should be. If you'd like, I could take everyone here back to the negotiation of the treaty and Da Rules, and show you quite the firsthand look at how many of you here now breathed a sigh of relief when the fairies told you that reset button would always be available to use."_

" _That's meant to be a safeguard, Clockwork. Not a crutch."_ The head speaker reminded him. _"There will always be consequences to any action, even if it is supposedly wished away."_

" _Not to mention that there are still magics that cannot be as simply overruled."_ The past Appatu pointed out.

" _Like a certain deal, for example?"_ Clockwork said, getting a stunned look from many of the ghost, like he'd said exactly what they'd been thinking. _"I'm sorry, but it had to be said. Timmy Turner is not Mandy, gentlemen. All this overcompensation won't change the fact that Grim's deal with those two human children has already been made. Don't try and make up for your perceived failure by taking it out on someone else."_

After a bit of an awkward moment, as the Observants tried to find their words again, one of the on-screen Observants commented _"I'm surprised you can speak of the deal so casually, Clockwork. Is the Grim Reaper not your personal friend as well?"_

" _Oh, he is, and he's been relentlessly bugging me as of late to alter time and get him out of it."_ Clockwork told them, fist over his mouth to try and hide his small bits of chuckling. _"But I told him to have faith in the decisions he and those two kids will make. He might be pleasantly surprised by the outcome."_ Clockwork said with a smile.

Junior blinked, as he noticed Clockwork's smile wasn't directed up at the screens. "…Is he freaking looking at us?"

"Yep." Danny said simply.

"…Fucking chronomancers." Junior muttered in annoyance.

"Yep."

From the sound of how restless those in the stands were getting, it seemed like it was about time to wrap this up. _"We are nearly ready to make our judgements."_ The past Appatu declared, getting the others to quiet again. _"Before we do, do you, Jorgen, Clockwork, have any last statements to make?"_

Jorgen took in a breath, no doubt preparing to make his last statement to the council a very colorful one, but Clockwork spoke up first. _"Just this one."_ He said solemnly, in his prime again. " _Don't do it."_

The past Appatu looked at the ghost in confusion, at he noticed Clockwork almost seemed to be referring directly to him. _"Excuse me?"_

" _What you are thinking of doing, what all of you believe is your only option to keep the realms safe."_ Clockwork said, a much greater tone of seriousness in voice than before. _"I see like you do. I see possibilities of what's to come. But you look at time like you are watching a parade. One event passing before you in sequence in the order that they are meant to. You believe that the possibilities you see are so certain that they will happen unless you intervene. Unless you do everything in your power to keep them from happening."_

Junior gave a small wince, for a second almost able to swear Clockwork was looking over at him again as he spoke, almost repeating the exact same words he'd said to him before.

" _I see this parade from above."_ The ghost of time continued. _"All the twists and turns it might, or might not, take. I can see the many paths Timmy's could take. Just like I can see the one that this council is on now. And that's why I'm asking…why I'm begging…don't do it. The consequences the realms will face, that you all will personally face, are greater than you can imagine."_

" _Interesting words coming from a man who believes in second chances as much as you do, Clockwork."_ The head speaker commented.

" _And who's to say that this isn't yours?"_ Clockwork asked potently.

A very long period of choking silence followed that statement.

"… _Has the High Council reached its verdict?"_ The past Appatu asked, the small hesitation in his voice showing he had been barely brave enough to break the silence.

Quiet again.

" _Not guilty."_ Said the left half of the amphitheater.

" _Not guilty."_ Said the right.

" _Not guilty."_ Said the other Observants on the screens.

The head speaker looked over to the past Appatu's screen. With a moment of great thought before he said anything, Appatu finally spoke _"Not guilty.",_ his nod and demeanor showing that he would respect the wishes of the council.

With a nod back, the head speaker stated _"By the ruling of this court, all charges against Timmy Turner are dropped and the Observant's High Council will make no action against him or the Fairy Council."_

Jorgen gave a cheer and leapt up with an ecstatic arm pump, his boots shaking the building with a quake when he landed back down. Clockwork however retained a more stoic expression, likely because he knew what was coming next.

" _However,"_ The Observant spoke again, cutting Jorgen's celebrations short. _"We will not hold our peace forever, Mr. Von Strangle. If this happens again, if Timmy Turner blatantly breaks Da Rules and the terms of the treaty again, and if the Fairy Council does not properly deal with him as they should, then we WILL take whatever course of action we deem necessary to keep him from throwing the realms into chaos, regardless of any pleas or excuses. Do we make ourselves clear?"_

" _Hey, hey, it's not like I don't want that too."_ Jorgen said, hands up in a backing wave motion. _"It'd make my job a lot easier if Turner were to just be more like a normal godchild for a change and not have me running to Earth every five seconds to fix his puny-minded mistakes. We'll do what we can."_ He assured them.

After a studying gaze over the fairy's form, the head speaker finally said _"This court is dismissed."_

With the Observants floating away out of their seats and the screens clicking off, Jorgen breathed a sigh of relief and slapped Clockwork thankfully on the back, getting a rough _OOMPH!_ out the ghost. _"Man, that was a close one."_ He said, sounding happy but exhausted. _"I can't imagine how bad that could have gone if you hadn't shown up."_

" _Not as bad as you think."_ Clockwork told him simply, not seeming to really be all that concerned with the ruling. _"Now let's just hope the Observants will change their minds when it matters most."_

" _Pardon?"_ Jorgen asked, not really having heard him.

" _Nothing, Jorgen. Nothing at all."_ The ghost of time said, before giving one last look back at where Junior stood with the other two, casting away any doubts in the Reaper's mind that Clockwork could see them somehow.

The ghost disappeared completely a second later, same as when he had arrived, but Junior didn't think he'd ever be able to forget that look of sad disappointment on Clockwork's face before he left.

Like a rush of wind, everything golden surrounding the three was suddenly sucked up back into the Remembrance Orb in Appatu's hand, returning everything back to the ghost's dark room in Pariah's Keep.

Feeling the words choke him a bit as his brain tried to digest everything it'd just seen and heard, Junior coughed a bit as he finally worked himself up enough to figure out what of the many obvious things to say first.

"Those black, swirling things above the kid's head…the names… That memory has been altered."

"Figured that out, did you?" Danny said sarcastically as he looked over to Appatu, the old ghost now sitting back down on his bed, very shakily setting the Remembrance Orb down on the nightstand and jerking his hand away from it and to his body, almost like he was afraid of it.

Junior just looked at the two, dumbfounded as he tried to piece this all together. "You obviously didn't think that I wouldn't notice, and the rest of the memory seemed real enough. I could certainly check with Clockwork if it wasn't. …So why show me this? This God of Magic was once some kid? That's not really that shocking, given some of the crap I got mixed up in when I was eleven."

"Well, there's a couple reasons for that." Danny said simply as he walked over to the nightstand. "One is to give you some context. Let you understand more of what you really want to know. And the other, I imagine," He said as he picked the orb up. "Is because Appatu needs to work himself up to the heavier stuff."

Danny held the orb back up to the Observant, whose eye widened as it neared him and curled up even further into his body. "I don't want to... I don't want to…" Appatu shook his head, his voice sacred and pleading.

"Appatu, take the orb." Danny ordered, his firm tone not budging.

"It hurts. It hurts me to remember! You know it does! I don't want to! I don't want to!"

Finally getting impatient, Danny pulled Appatu's arm away from his cowering, defiant body and forced the ghost's thin fingers around the orb, holding them tightly in place so that he couldn't let go. "Show him the memory. Now." Danny ordered again, this time with a clear tone of warning.

Once he was sure the broken ghost wouldn't drop the item as soon as he could, Danny let go of his hands and stepped back to Junior, the Observant's whimpers quiet but still easy for the Reaper to hear.

"You might want to hold onto something." Danny told him.

"What? Why?" Junior asked.

The energy pulsed out from the Remembrance Orb as it had before, but this time it was like a bomb had gone off in the room. Junior almost immediately fell to his knees as the three found themselves back in the Observant's courtroom, only this time with everything violently shaking and the black swirling ink-ish clouds from before now covering nearly everything like it was a wildfire of some kind, consuming all it touched. Like before, Junior could only imagine that only the three of them could see this, as the few Observants that he could make out in the stands seemed completely unfazed.

" _Bring out the accused."_ Junior recognized the voice of the same head speaker from before, his voice now having a strange reverb effect to it.

The doors swung open and the guards brought in a handcuffed man who was clearly struggling against them. They carried him up until the center of the amphitheater before they finally threw him down against the floor.

" _Timmy Turner, do you know why you are here?"_ The head speaker asked him.

"Wait...that's Timmy?" Junior asked as he forced back the urge to vomit, the constant motion and noise making him feel queasy. While the ink clouds were making the accused just as difficult to make out as everything else in the memory, Junior could tell that the man getting back up onto his knees a few feet in front of him was indeed a full grown man, though he thought he could maybe make out a bit of pink in his clothing and the shine coming off his two buck teeth. "How many years after that first memory is this?"

" _Where…where are [retracted] and [retracted]?!"_ Timmy yelled up with worry at the many screens hanging above him. _"What'd you do with them?"_

" _You lost any right you had to your fairy godparents the minute you revealed their existence to a mortal with no knowledge of her own about Fairy World."_ The head speaker stated bluntly.

" _Please! You don't understand!"_ Timmy begged for them to listen. _"I only told her about my fairies because I thought I could help her! You guys see everything right? You know what she's been through! You know what H-!"_

" _Silence!"_ The past Appatu now spoke, from behind his same screen as before. _"This has less to do with your breaking of that rule and more to do with how your attempts to undo it endangered us all, Timmy Turner. For nearly ten years we'd thought you had finally learned your lesson and then you go and pull something like this? Well, no longer. May we present the case against the accused?"_

" _Indeed."_ The head speaker said, giving a nod before the past Appatu's screen went black and flew out above the center of the amphitheater.

" _As you are all aware, Timmy Turner broke one of the most important rules set down in Da Rules and our treaty by revealing the existence of his fairies to another non-godchild mortal."_ The past Appatu addressed the court. _"As such, the Fairy Council had his fairy godparents stripped from him and wiped his memory of all things to do with them and Fairy World. The fault lies not with them, thankfully. However, as had happened on the day Turner's secret wish was discovered, his lost memories started to slowly come back to him! In just a matter of days after they were taken from him, Turner remembered Fairy World vividly enough to journey there himself and find [retracted] and [retracted] and their fairy infant!"_

There was a long collection of murmurs heard from the stands as the Observants talked in shock and disbelief over the statement.

" _Is such a thing even possible?"_ One of the other onscreen Observants asked.

" _Apparently, when it comes to Turner, it is."_ The past Appatu said. _"Take another look back through his timeline and see for yourself. Time and time again Turner's memories of his fairy godparents have been taken from him, only for them to return later, either by his own actions or through natural recollection. So deeply are memories of the world of fairies that for the first time since their creation have the fairy's method of erasing their presence from their godchild's world failed and repeatedly so."_

One after another, the Observants in the stands rolled their eyes to the backs of their heads, their single round organ glowing softly before they finally rolled back to the front, with each Observant now seeming to have seen the proof in Timmy's timeline that their fellow Observant spoke of.

" _Never before has the mortal world produced a being with such an uncanny ability. And if that alone did not make him dangerous enough, I present you with the final bit of evidence of Turner's crimes."_ The past Appatu said as he clapped his hands together, summoning forth another armed Observant guard, this one carrying a tin-covered tray. Taking the top off and underneath revealed a single lone muffin, pink in color and decorated with an array of gold stars baked into it. _"The last of Fairy World's infamous Magic Muffins. The only one remaining for safe keeping after this very court ordered the Fairy Council to destroy them. Able to grant any single rule-free wish with just a single bite. And what Turner and his ex-godparents were caught red-handed attempting to steal. And does this council wish to know what the accused confessed that he was going to do with it after the fairy's magic forced the truth out of him?"_

Hard to tell whether the Observant's pause for dramatic effect was intentional or not, but regardless, like before, a giant glass eye lowered down from the ceiling and a hologram projected itself down onto the floor from its pupil, this time playing a video instead of a still image, this one of Timmy bound by a golden rope as the fairy security guard kept him restrained.

" _I just…! I just wanted [retracted] and [retracted] back!"_ The Timmy in the recording told them pleadingly, clear strain in his voice as the words forced themselves out through his unwilling lips. _"My wish…I was going to wish that they could be my godparents again! Forever! That they couldn't be taken from me again unless they wanted to leave!"_

A single loud collection of gasps echoed throughout the stands, followed by numerous unintelligible conversations, as the many members in the court did not even bother to hide their stunned outrage.

" _Timmy Turner, is this confession true?"_ The head speaker asked, the authoritative sound of his voice causing the commotion to slowly quiet down. _"Did you really seek to make such a wish?"_

Noticeably, Timmy did not deny the question. From what little of his features Junior could make out amongst all the blackness and shaking, the man looked like he was on the verge of tears.

" _Please…[retracted] and [retracted]…they aren't just my fairies. They're the only real family I've ever had. Please, I just want them back."_

" _You will hear no sympathy from this court after all you have done, Turner."_ The past Appatu stated harshly down to him. _"You may think we are being unfair to you, but that's only because you have no idea the kind of consequences that could have resulted from your actions. Do you even have the slightest inkling of the kinds of demons and monsters that constantly are keeping a watchful eye on the mortal world? All the horrors that beings like HIM or Aku could conjure up should they manage to take hold of the unbound fairy magic you would have placed in your possession? There's a reason why the birth of new fairies has been forbidden for millennia, another rule you broke, and why godchildren are only allowed their fairies for a limited time, a time that is most certainly past due for you. Your actions and your wishes have placed the realms in chaos time and time again, and this time your crime will not be ignored."_ He then turned to the rest of the court. _"Brothers, fellow members of the Observant's High Council Tribunal, what is your judgement? How do you deem Timmy Turner for his actions?"_

" _GUILTY!"_ Yelled the left half of the amphitheater.

" _GUILTY!"_ Yelled the right.

" _GUILTY!"_ Yelled the other Observants on the screens.

The past Appatu looked up at the head speaker's screen and the ghost gave a single permissive nod. _"The court has spoken."_

With that, the past Appatu floated down to stand before the kneeling Timmy, the human's blue eyes fearfully darting back and forth the ghost and the muffin still in his hand.

" _This court finds you guilty of your crimes, Timmy Turner."_ The Observant stated impassively in contrast, clearly seeing this as nothing more than his simple duty. _"However, as it would be a grievous mishandling of justice if we were to ignore all our previous rulings and the defenses given for you in the past by the Fairy Council, it is clear we cannot treat you as though you are as evil a being as the many others this court has sentenced, being merely an irresponsible one. As such, you shall not be imprisoned or made to suffer for the mistakes you have made."_

For a split second, hope almost returned to Timmy's face.

" _But no longer shall we allow you to remain a risk to the stability of the realms."_ The past Appatu stated. _"Is this court in agreement on the sentence?"_

One by one, all around the amphitheater, the eye of each Observant glowed bright red and their spectral bodies became stiff and ridged, the pattern spiraling all the way around from the bottom seats to the high screens and finally overtaking the past Appatu. Moving so unnaturally and awkwardly like he was a puppet, the past Appatu held the magic muffin up before his face. _**"With many single minds as one,"**_ He said, the voice of every other Observant coming out along with his own. _**"From many single voices to one shared judgement, we now pass this sentence."**_

Raising the muffin up to whatever could be considered the ghost's mouth, the past Appatu took a single bite out of the pastry.

The black wildfire around them suddenly exploded across the entire memory, sending Junior tumbling around in darkness like he was sucked up into an ink-filled tornado, the world just a blur of motion and chaos around him, with Timmy's screams and pleas for mercy being the only sounds he could hear echoing nonstop in his ears for that endless cycle.

And then, just as suddenly, Junior found himself out his butt, sitting on the floor panting in the same closed off room as before, Danny standing over the body of Appatu, whom laid curled up and weeping against the floor. "I'msorry I'msorry I'msorry I'msorry I'msorry I'msososorry…"

Junior looked around the room in a daze, holding his head as he tried to regain his sense of balance (and reality). "What…what was all that?"

Danny didn't answer him back right away, still looking down at Appatu. For a second, Junior almost thought he saw a bit of guilt come across the king's face over what he'd just put the crying ghost through. But a single blink later and Danny's face forced itself to return to its cold stone features.

"Every time Tim lost his fairies, something always sparked the memories back and they were able to find each other again." He explained, trying to show as little emotion as possible. "The Observants didn't know if it was because of the fairies' doing or just a natural gift he somehow had, but regardless they found a way that could get around both, which Tim unintentionally gave them."

Slowly, Junior rose back to his feet, dusting his rear off. "The muffin?"

Appatu made another whimper. Ignoring that best he could, Danny nodded. "What comes easily through magic can be just as easily undone by magic of the same kind, but say you have a bit of unique magic that is not bound by any rules and has no equal, then what could cancel out that?"

"So the wish the Observants made using that muffin…"

Again, Danny nodded, but this time a lot more sullenly. "I don't know what the exact wish was. Even Appatu doesn't know anymore and believe me we were lucky to dig back up what we did, the many years it took for me to do so. But from what we've been able to piece together…" Danny paused hesitantly for a moment. "What…what Tim and I were able to piece together…the Observants wished for Tim, and everyone connected to him, to either forget who his godparents were or to forget that he ever had any to begin with. That he and they forget every influence they had on his life. That man you saw out there in that court? I never met him. The Tim that found me years later…he's the man who became this God of Magic you're looking for and he…well…he's the reason Appatu is hiding out here with me. As you can probably imagine, he wasn't too happy to find out what the Observants did to him."

Not knowing what was proper to say next, Danny moved to help Appatu off the floor. The sobbing Observant did not fight against the king's help but did nothing to aid it, going limp in Danny's arms as he pulled him back onto the filthy old bed.

"You had him…magically lobotomized." Junior said to Appatu, his voice showing well his disbelief and shock. "And those black swirls in your memories and the removed names…you let the muffin's magic practically lobotomize you too. All that just to keep one guy away from his fairy godparents."

"We did what we thought we had to do..." Appatu wept, his tone making it clear he barely felt there was any real defense anymore for his actions. "You're young. You weren't there during the times of old, before the treaties. Back when the realms were nothing more than a spiraling black cauldron of chaos and war. We relented at letting children have the power of the fairies, believing they couldn't do too much damage. But Turner was in his twenties when we finally sentenced him…and the people he was getting involved with…my old self shutters to think…"

Junior caught that last part. "Who? Who was he getting involved with? Does it have anything to do with who he revealed his fairies to?" He asked pressingly.

"He doesn't remember." Danny told Junior as Appatu started whimpering again into his pillow. "The most I've ever been able to get out of him is that Tim was living in Megaville when it happened, which doesn't exactly narrow it down."

"Megaville?" Junior asked. _"Wait…in the memory…this Turner guy said it was a she."_ He remarked to himself. _"It couldn't be mom, could it? How old was she when she married dad and moved to the Underworld? …But Clockwork did bring her up in the last memory… Does that mean anything?"_

"…I can't help but notice that you're not showing me any of your own memories." Junior commented to Danny, regaining his attention. "Only his." He cocked his head at Appatu.

"Is that a problem?" Danny asked with a grunt.

"It might be." Junior stated back, getting a glare from the king which he gladly returned. "I came to you because you were apparently buddy-buddy with this Timmy guy and thus if there was anyone who could tell me anything about him beyond just the generals, it'd be you. So I'm hoping that you're not holding back anything important."

Danny, clearly not liking the tone the Reaper was taking with him, stood quietly for a moment, biting his tongue. But finally, he calmed himself down enough and said "Look…the time I spent travelling with Tim is honestly a time in my life that I'd like to ironically forget. He thought we could help each other out and help others along the way and I thought the same. Turns out, we were both wrong. Believe it or not, that sums up our entire near five-year relationship rather perfectly. I couldn't help him get his memories back and actually ended up leading him to discovering what the Observants had done. Anything else?"

"So he knew he'd lost his memories?" Junior asked, getting a confused look from Danny. "He knew he lost his memories and from the way you're talking, he knew he lost his fairies, even though the muffin made him and everyone else forget it ever happened. So how did he find out he was missing anything? How did you?"

Danny looked at Junior, impressed in spite of himself at how quickly the Reaper had picked up on that. Almost tempted the smile if the subject matter were any lighter, Danny said to him "Well, despite how big of mistake they made, turns out the Observants were right about one thing: there was someone keeping an eye on the mortal realm because of Tim. Someone who'd been waiting for years to exploit his…let's say, chaotic potential, and finally found the opportunity."

The realization dawned on Junior almost instantly. "Eris!" He burst out without thinking, resisting the urge he had to slap his hand over his mouth. No one else knew about Eris coming to him for help and giving him the leads that'd brought him here, and while he certainly still didn't trust her, he wasn't foolish enough to reveal anything to someone else he wasn't fully sure if he could trust.

Thankfully, Danny didn't seem all that surprised that Junior had made that particular connection, simply giving him a nod in confirmation. "I still don't know how she was able to remember anything about Tim from before the Observant's wish was made, though as far as I was able to tell, she couldn't remember who his fairies were either, just that he had them and that they were forcibly taken away, along with a good chunk of his mind. I can only assume she was the one who sought him out, given she was already teaching him magic when he found me."

"And the fact that he was travelling with a literal Goddess of Chaos didn't raise any red flags for you?" Junior asked with a raised, questioning eyebrow.

"Neither of us knew who she really was. Though in the state Tim must have been in, I can't say that he wouldn't have still accepted her help." Danny said before making a wave of his arm and causing streams of ecto-energy to steam out of the floor and walls, coagulating together to form a near solid image before them both. "She called herself Nyx and she claimed to have once been an apprentice of Klarion." He explained as the image took the form of a young dark-skinned girl, her light purple hair tied in pigtails at the sides of her head and a small black-winged eagle with a red feather mohawk sitting on the shoulder of her leather jacket.

"Klarion? That freaky witch boy with the cat?"

"That's the one. From what Tim told me about her as we travelled, Klarion grew paranoid that his student's chaotic magic could end up surpassing his own and thus tricked her into giving up all her magic to her familiar, that bird there, which he then stole and hid away. Without her powers and given that chaos is based in change, Nyx's body was forever locked into being ten years old, unable to grow until she could get them back and thus unable to make a name for herself and go down in history as one of the world's greatest sorcerers like she'd always wanted, which was Klarion's point."

"Quite the backstory." Junior remarked evenly.

"Apparently Eris is a fan of fanfiction." Danny shrugged. "Despite the obvious pitfalls of the curse, Nyx claimed that being stuck the way she was did have one benefit. That she was able to remember the stories of the godchild who had kept his fairies for longer than anyone else and had used their magic to repeatedly save (and nearly doom) the mortal realm. Stories that everyone else in-phase with the world seemed to have forgotten. Thus, when she finally sought out and found this man, whose void in his life and his heart was greater than her own, she figured that they could help each other out. That she could teach him the chaos magics she knew but could no longer perform so that he could aid her in finding her eagle while she in turn would help him recover his memories."

"…Claimed being the operative word here, I'm guessing." Junior commented.

Danny gave a bitter nod. "The first time we ever met your mother was at a party she and Grim were throwing in their new castle, back before you or any of your siblings were born. I'd always wondered why Nyx was so fidgety then. No doubt she was afraid Mandy would somehow be able to recognize and expose her for who she really was. If Nyx was just a lie all along, then so is possibly everything she ever said and that most certainly wouldn't have gone over well with Tim."

"But you did eventually find out." Junior pointed out. "Both you and Tim, I'm assuming, given that she's working with this alliance he's put together to attack my family."

Appatu gave another whimper, a bit to Junior's start as he'd almost forgotten the ghost was even there. Looking down at the old man with pity in his eyes, Danny said "…Let's just say that the revenge Tim took on the Observants offered him a bit more clarity on things than he had before."

* * *

Glomulus laid sprawled out across Daniela's lap, purring away as the ghost girl scratched at the sweet spot atop his head. The Fright Knight stayed at the door where he had been this entire time, tapping his foot with some impatience as he waited for his king to conclude his business so that the intruders could finally leave. He gave a sigh, continuing to count the minutes as there was not much else to do. But soon after, as his eyes lazily cast themselves out around the rest of the infirmary, the knight did finally take notice of what Daniela was curiously looking at in her hand: a gold chained necklace with a green jewel in its center.

"The Amulet of Aragon? You still have that?" The Fright Knight asked in surprise.

Daniela was taken slightly off guard by the knight's sudden words, as it was the first time he'd said anything since her brother had left with the Ghost King. "Uh…yeah?"

"I still have some of the guards scouring the islands outside in search for that." He explained as he made his way up to her. "Please, if you would." He asked, firm but polite as he held out his hand for her to give it to him.

Upon hearing the Fright Knight's close steps, Glomulus immediately perked back up and started growling in warning. In an odd moment of agreement, Daniela withdrew the amulet back closer to her chest. "No, I don't think that's a good idea."

The Fright Knight's eye twitched in annoyance but he still remained wary of the creature Junior had summoned. "Child, do you even have any idea what that artifact does?"

"It's what you used to turn your horse into a dragon, right? And what you were going to use to turn yourself into one to fight my brother before, yes?" Daniela said simply, her concussion having gone down enough so that it wasn't so hard for her to think and remember anymore.

"And everything that that entails." The Fright Knight told her, strong warning in his tone. "The Amulet of Aragon turns those who wear it into a beast, in both form and mindset. Unless you have a strong sense of self or a strong sense of loyalty like Nightmare has to me or that I have to my liege, the beast will quickly overwhelm any sense of reason you once had and cause you to be driven solely by your rage and base aggressive instincts. An incident like that would most certainly be something I think we'd both like to avoid adding to the many we've already experienced today, yes?"

That being quite a thing to say, Daniela looked down at the necklace in her hand again, feeling a small bit of discomfort as she watched the light shine off the slit in the eye of the jewel.

After a long moment of indecision, Daniela finally stuffed the amulet away in the pocket of her dress. "I'll…I'll ask Junior about it when he gets back from talking with your king and see what he thinks I should do." She said, doing what she could to sound more brave in spite of her reservations.

A low, irritated grumble came out from under the Fright Knight's helmet, but eventually he finally went "Fine." Throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation and walking away as he didn't feel like fighting the girl on this. Given that Junior would likely have no use for the amulet himself, he doubted he'd have Daniels keep it so there was no need to force her on anything.

As the Fright Knight returned to his post, Glomulus kept its beady little eyes trained on him as he laid back down in Daniela's lap, where he delighted in her return to scratching his head.

"…Not that I'd be horribly upset at a power boost, even with a catch like that." Daniela remarked offhandedly in spite of herself.

"Great power means little if there's no control behind it." The Fright Knight remarked back to her, folding his arms as he tried to return to a comfortable stand.

"I used to believe that, until I kept getting nearly killed by almost literally everyone my brother and I met who was stronger than me." Daniela retorted. "I know my impatience may seem childish. I wanted to travel with Junior so that overtime I could get stronger. I knew it'd take a while, especially given where I'm starting from, but now there's just so much of gap that I can't honestly see myself ever coming close to closing."

"Interesting for me of all people to say this, but I would hope you are not comparing yourself to the king." The Fright Knight expressed casually (or at least casually for the very stiff soldier). "There has not been a ghost since Lord Pariah himself who has come close to matching the Ghost King's physical power. It would be wise to treat him as the exception rather than the rule."

Daniela gave an unintentional yawn. Not out of boredom of their conversation or anything, though she did still try to cover her mouth with her hand to avoid appearing rude. Just simply the day and her private training prior to it having its natural toll on her. Daniela looked down at Glomulus, whom was snoozing away belly-up in her lap, and actually felt envy for the bizarre creature.

"I know you are probably right, though because of my relation, both to him and my brother, you understand if I can't help but have them weigh more heavily on my mind than others." She admitted with a small smile that masked some of her deeper feelings. "Grew up never knowing my birth father. I finally meet him and then soon after an alternate version of him. I can't help but wonder if those in the mortal world ever have to deal with conundrums such as these."

The Fright Knight gave a yawn of his own, apparently Daniela's drowsiness being contagious. "From what the king has told me, they spend most of their time imagining having lives like ours. Though from what I've heard, perhaps the fantasies of mortals do at least make more sense than the realities they live in."

That did get a laugh out of Daniela, though it was slightly muffled by a sleepy gape. "Heh. What a…what a world it must…that it must…be…right…."

Daniela's words trailed off as her eyes slowly shut and her head slumped down. With her spine relaxing she fell back against the mattress of the white sheet-covered infirmary bed, out like a light with Glomulus barely balanced on the edge of her lap.

The Fright Knight thought nothing of this, as his own sudden grogginess started to dull his senses. Through the opening of his helmet the knight rubbed his face, trying to rub the feelings of tiredness out of his eyes. Holding his hand out in front of him, the gloved fingers were but a blurry mass. His eyes just couldn't focus themselves.

He pressed his back to the wall, his will trying desperately to keep himself standing as a light blue fog drifted into the room from under the crack of the door. Finally, the fatigue overcame him. The Fright Knight's eyes fell shut as his body slid down the frame before collapsing over onto the floor, going into a deep sleep like that of Daniela's.

From the other side, the knob twisted and the door opened up, moving with some effort to push the Fright Knight out of the way, though even with the wood whacking his form he barely even stirred, and into the infirmary entered Dan and the Boogieman, the fog still wafting out from under the demon's robe.

"I do so love the benefits that come from knowing the right people." Boogie commented with a chuckle as he seemingly glided into the room, Dan close behind.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why isn't that stuff affecting me too?" The ghost asked as he watched the fog cautiously.

"Because I don't want it to." Boogie answered simply with a momentary look back, turning his head just enough to emphasize his sly grin. "Plan can't exactly work if you go nodding off on me, now can it?"

Dan gave the back of the demon's hood a small glare as he followed behind him. Though he was willing to work with the Boogieman and see where this all goes, that didn't mean he actually trusted him and was readying himself for any eventual betrayal. Wouldn't exactly be the first time such a thing had happened in the ghost's life.

When the two had finally reached Daniela's slumbering form, Dan took a moment to give an amused grin at Glomulus's presence. "Oh my god, he actually kept one! And Glomulus of all things!" He laughed.

Boogie gave him an odd look. "Meaning…?" He asked in confusion.

"Ah, nothing you need to worry yourself over, blue boy. It was a while ago, when these Illuminati whatever-the-fucks tried to get rid of me and Junior by firing us off into space. On the way back to Earth we encountered this group of some Orange Lantern assholes. …Well…I suppose technically it was just the one who kept throwing others at us. But regardless we handled it and Junior joked about taking a souvenir. Guess Glomulus's soul was what he chose. Personally, I would have gone with the lantern itself, but that's just me."

Boogie just stood there blinking at him. "Your stories would back for a fascinating prequel to the war that's about to come." He told him honestly.

"You know, just for the sake of irony I'd probably name that story _The Phantom Menace_. Really get the fanboys up in arms." Dan remarked with a proud smirk.

"Indeed. And now, speaking of menace…" Boogie said as they now stood over Daniela's bed. "I take it I have your permission?" He asked politely.

"Just don't do anything funny while you're in there. That's still my daughter." Dan warned him.

"Interesting thing for you to say, given what you're about to do." Boogie remarked with a slight cock of his head.

"Which was your idea." Dan reminded him with some distaste. "I'm still tempted to go upstairs and just punch Danny in the face."

"I know, I know." Boogie chuckled as his body and robe started to slowly steam and transmute into more of the blue fog. "But then again, even you admitted that my master's idea is so much more fun."

When the Boogieman's body was finally nothing more than a mass of vapors with a distinguished smirk, the fog drifted over Daniela's body, covering her completely before moving to be breathed in in its entirety through her mouth and nose. As the fog entered her, Daniela's body gave a series of twitches and her closed eyes clamped down even tighter as her body painfully twisted and fought against this outside entrance. But within less than a minute of the struggle, Daniela's body finally relaxed again and her breathing returned to normal as she laid in blissful sleep again.

Dan stared down at the body of his daughter, his glace off to the side and the hesitant bite of his lip showing he was having some second thoughts about this. But as his fist curled in determination and he remembered what he was so close to, the moment passed and Dan's body turned intangible before flying right down into Daniela's chest.

There was far less of a struggle than there'd been when Boogie entered her and seconds later Daniela's eyes sprang open, now with Dan's red glow staring out of them.

Daniela's body stood up abruptly from the bed, causing Glomulus to fall fast out of her lap and face-first onto the floor, though the impact still failed to wake the creature as Boogie's magics kept it asleep.

On the small medical cart nearby, Daniela's hand picked up the small hand mirror sitting on top and held it up to see her face.

"…Yep, this is just as weird as I imagined it'd be." Dan said dryly, his deep voice such an unnerving thing to come out of the teenage girl's mouth. "I suppose it'd be more concerning if I didn't find it weird, but still…"

Setting the mirror back down, the white circles of light spread out across Daniela's body, this time with a small tint of black to them, and transformed her back to her ghost form. With the red glow of the form's eyes seemingly more pronounced, Dan held his new arm up and felt her bicep, giving a frown. "Well that's disappointing." Dan sighed, shaking his/Daniela's head. "If it makes you feel any better, kid, you were still a pretty good scrapper while you were wearing your brother's body. No judgement, of course, given the obvious current situation."

After he stretched a bit first and made sure he had a proper enough feel for Daniela's body, Dan picked Glomulus up off the floor, holding it by the head with one hand.

"Now then, since the party is all set up, let's invite the guests." Dan smirked as Glomulus's body started to fill with ecto-energy, inflating the poor thing like a balloon, growing bigger and bigger until finally it exploded in a flash of green light.

* * *

Daniela bolted upwards as she awakened from her sleep, thinking that she'd heard an explosion. Looking around, everything seemed to be fine. Nothing broken or tilted that would indicate any sort of conflict. But as her mind refocused itself back from her slumber, Daniela realized that she was not seated on an infirmary bed, nor was she surrounded by the walls of Pariah's Keep.

"Wait…this is…this my room. Back at the castle." Daniela breathed in realization as her fingers felt the softness of her comforting purple quilt and sheets, looking around, slightly confused, as her dresser, closet, and bookcase were all in their proper place. Rubbing her face to help herself wake up more, Daniela thought to herself _"Did Junior bring me back here after I fell asleep? How long was I-"_

Her thoughts were then interrupted by a knock at her door. "Daniela?" Called the male voice from the other side that she recognized as Manny's, though a slight bit deeper. Did he have a cold?

The door was knocked on again. "Daniela? Jeez, are you still asleep? After all the times you ragged on me for oversleeping and now you're doing it today of all days?"

Shaking herself a bit to try and get rid of this near constant groggy feeling, Daniela called back "I'm…I'm up! I'm up!"

The doorknob turned and the door cracked open just enough for Manny to pause himself. "Please tell me you're wearing something." He said, making sure to keep the door where it could block his sight just in case. "I really don't need the therapy that comes with seeing your sister's unmentionables."

Her face suddenly flushing with red as she'd completely forgotten that possibility too, Daniela quickly looked down at herself. She was no longer wearing the black dress she'd been wearing in the Ghost Zone (and who undressed her was a matter to worry about later), but she was wearing a silk nightgown that covered herself up modestly enough. "Y-yeah, everything's fine."

The door finally fully opened and Daniela's jaw nearly hit the floor from the shock of what she saw.

It was indeed Manny, but with far more of a striking resemblance to their birth father than when she'd last seen her brother. Taller, with more muscle, and a white soul patch beard that covered down to the chin of his ghost form, though with thankfully none of his hairs in flames. And…he was older. By how much she couldn't say. Maybe ten years at the most but he had definitely grown beyond just a sudden growth spurt. And such an odd sight it was that Daniela could hardly even speak to comment on it. Though Manny was wearing an outfit similar to what he'd always worn since they were children, on this more adult body, Manny actually looked far more like a proper prince than Daniela had ever seen him. Dare she even say, he actually looked mature!

Seeing Daniela still in her nightgown, Manny rolled his eyes. "Well, come on! Get dressed. Everyone's going to be here soon. It's your big day. Then you're allowed to start acting like a real royal pain in the butt." He said, with an honest joking tone.

Still completely stunned, Daniela's hand reached up to her chin as her brain tried to find some way to react to this.

Manny, apparently seeing his sister's hand gesture as some sort of hint, gave a frown and said "I'm not shaving it off, Daniela. I don't care what you think. I think it looks cool."

And with a final distinguished (or at least attempting to be distinguished) "Hmph!", Manny closed the door behind him as he let his sister have some privacy.

Still sitting there in stunned silence, it was like a shock of electricity went through her as Daniela leapt up out of her bed as the moment and panic finally hit her. Clearly something was not right and she was not foolish enough to not question it.

Thought when she'd nearly gone for the door, her eye found itself curiously drawn to something else there in the room with her. Something that'd caused her to make a full stop.

It was her full-length mirror. The same one she'd had for years. The same one she'd seen her reflection in hundreds of times before.

But this reflection was not from one of those times.

If Manny looked like their father, then Daniela clearly took far more after their mother. Her long black hair dipped past her waist. Her features were curvaceous and smooth. Her face, while twisted in her shock, had the staring eyes so much like Mandy's. Eyes that seemed like they could see through a man's soul and cut out his heart just with a look. Unconsciously, Daniela's hand reached up to her own rapidly beating heart and felt her chest. She had grown. This body she was in, whose reflection stared back at her with incomprehension, this was not the body of a teenager. This was the body of a woman.

As Daniela's disbelieving eyes looked over every inch of the mirror, taking in every aspect of her new form, she finally took notice of the little pink pamphlet taped to the mirror's side. Given its slight wrinkles and the inky smears from some of the more bold letters, it seemed to be an original letter that'd had many copies made of it.

 _ **When: April 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **, 12:00 PM**_

 _ **Where: Castle Grimskull, Domain of Death, Underworld**_

 _ **What: You are cordially invited to the coronation ceremony of Princess Daniela Grim of the Domain of Death. Food and drink will be served. Eat the other guests at your own risk. Gifts are expected. Please RSVP you and your plus-one by March 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **.**_

Daniela stared wide-eyed at the letter for the longest time.

"Coronation…? …I'm…I'm going to be queen?" The words had barely been able to leave her mouth, as the revelation had left her with such little breath. For a moment, Daniela felt so dizzy that she might pass out again.

Daniela held her forehead, trying to steady herself and keep from falling over. As she stared back into the mirror, trying to comprehend it all, she could not see the Boogieman's own reflection, nor even feel his presence as he stood right beside her.

"Yes, my dear. Yes, you are." He said, chuckling maliciously into the ear of the girl who heard not a sound he made.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** By the way, in case anyone is worried, there will be more on Timmy and Danny's past throughout the story. I didn't want to do just one big exposition dump, especially with many more chapters to come. So everything about Timmy is this chapter was just the tip of the Turner-burg, giving background and giving hints of what's to come.

By the way, credit for Nyx goes to Nightmaster000, whom has been a big help in helping me come up with ideas for my stories. Nyx is actually one of his OC's, so ask him if you want to use her in a story. Hopefully he won't be too upset at me that Nyx in this story is just a disguise for another character, but I couldn't think of a way to fit her in as an actual character in this particular story (though perhaps one down the line), especially as I do plan on later showing that party at Grimskull where Danny and Timmy first met Mandy, thus Eris disguised as Nyx would be there as well.

 **QTP:** What was the exact wish the Observants made using the Magic Muffin? Who is the "She" that Timmy revealed his Fairy Godparents to? Why was Eris able to remember Timmy having fairies when everyone else forgot? What did the God of Magic do to all the other Observants? What's Dan going to do with Daniela's body? And what is the Boogieman doing to Daniela?


	20. Wrong way forward

**Part 20: Wrong way forward**

 **DPSS:** Well, dreams are not usually the most logical of places. Just because Daniela wants to be queen doesn't mean the chances of it happening in reality are that great.

1.) Most likely.

2.) I certainly wouldn't bet against either possibility.

3.) Yep.

4.) With a straw.

5.) Very out of character, I agree. Though perhaps Dan knows his real fight with Junior is not quite yet, but soon.

6.) All I'm going to say is that Boogie will definitely get creepier as the story goes.

 **desdelor97:** Thank you.

 **Brave2000:** If I do another big story after this one is finished, I do want to try and give an origin of sorts for Clockwork. The way I view it, certain beings become ghosts after their deaths because they either have unfinished business in the living world or they have great regret over the life they lived and can't move on from it. For Clockwork, I imagine that when he was alive he was a being of great power and foresight but acted only as an observer, never stepping in to help. Regretting upon his death his wasted existence, he became the ghost he is so that he could actually try and make time flow in a direction that benefits all. But it's a work-in-progress idea.

 **coldblue2015:** I'm happy to hear that you liked the chapter.

 _How powerful would Daniela get for mastering the power of Amulet of Aragon?_

At the risk of spoilers, for now I'll just say that I do have a plan for how the Amulet will tie into Daniela's story. While I have no plans for any humanoid dragon forms, I will say the amulet will affect Daniela a bit differently than what we saw in the original show.

 _Should we expect some drama between Grim Junior and Timmy Turner or basically shit-hits-the-fan and becomes some super brawl?_

Again, can't reveal too much because of spoilers, but Junior and the God of Magic are definitely going to have some big confrontations between them, especially when they finally have their first face-to-face meeting. Since they are father and son, I promise you the drama between them will be more than just a matter of fists.

 _Have you thought of a Side-Story to "Grim Tales: Complex"? Maybe a "Grim Tales: Origins of Timmy Turner"?_

It definitely depends on how much about Timmy's backstory I get through in this story, as I do plan on showing a good chunk of it to explain Timmy's drastic change, especially the parts that relate to Junior, Mandy, and Danny. If all goes to plan, next chapter should reveal a little more about the latter's relationship to him.

 _Are Cosmo, Wanda and Poof going to appear in this story?_

They'll most certainly have an appearance or mention much later in the story, especially if I feel like kicking the audience in the balls/feels.

 _Any chances that we will read Minnie-Mandy coming into the story sooner or later?_

I'd say soon-ish is the best answer I can give. I know exactly when and how I'll be introducing Minnie into the story, though it'll probably be happening after the next big thing that happens in this arc of the story (by the end of this chapter it'll be pretty clear what that big thing is). If it's worth anything, what Minnie's doing upon her reveal will certainly get people talking about what she's up to.

Now for your answers:

1.) That is one of the possible wishes, but do remember that many of the "crimes" the Observants brought up again Timmy was him messing with time, something they at least went to Clockwork for before they tried to have young Danny Phantom killed.

2.) All of these are good guesses, save for Vicky, though that's only because I completely forgot about that character. I can't imagine someone as awful as her ever changing enough for Timmy to trust her, especially a Timmy who still had his fairies, as I think it was the _Channel Surfers_ movie that implied that the misery Vicky causes Timmy is one of the reasons he gets to keep Cosmo and Wanda for so long.

3.) Yes, but she would have to find some way of doing all this without her Apple of Discord, as Mandy would likely have still had it when Timmy's memories were taken.

4.) I guarantee you what Timmy did to them wasn't pretty, given how bad of shape Appatu is in and he's the Observant who escaped. One idea I did have was inspired by an issue of _Green Lantern_ where Sinestro forced the Guardians of the Universe to regain their emotions, forcing them to finally realize all the horrible things they've done throughout their lives before he killed them.

 _5_.) You pretty much nailed it with this. In the original show we saw people even as simple minded as Jack Fenton trying to fight off being overshadowed and even in this story I had Manny still resisting Daniela overshadowing him when under the influences of the Sins. Putting Daniela to sleep certainly makes what Dan's trying to do a lot easier.

6.) It is mostly just to keep Daniela from waking up and fighting off Dan's possession.

 **AMTT94:** Glad you liked it. From the way I have the Fairies magic work, it is more powerful when directed towards a goal, like say granting the wish of a child. Fairies can still use magic for their own wants and needs but its not usually as powerful and when it comes to the Fairy Godparents (as not all Fairies in Fairy World pass the training required to become a Godparent) the magic builds up faster than they can use it, thus magical build-up. Basically Fairies are a symbiotic organism in a way, where they have a mutually beneficial relationship with human children in order to survive/stay un-exploded.

 **Algremnon:** Glad to not be dead.

1.) Okay.

2.) Good guess.

3.) Yeah! Chaos! (excitedly throws chair)

4.) Probably.

5.) There's some debate in the posts on that right now, actually.

6.) Possibly.

 **Major144:** Thank you, though I do still feel a little odd about how I handled Nyx. MJ and Jacob in _Empire of Death_ and technically Appatu in this are the only OC's I've used so far in my stories (The Wingmaker too, I suppose, if you count my abandoned _Minnie the Ascended_ story). I have ideas for more but I hesitate to use them as I fear they'll distract from where the story's focus should be: the actual Grim Tales characters.

 **nightmaster000:** _Harry Potter_ was exactly where I got it from, you're right. One bit of writing advice I was given when I first started was the classic "Show, don't tell". So I figured showing the actual memory is more interesting than just having Danny and Appatu tell Junior what happened.

Glad you're okay with how I handled Nyx, as that did have me a bit worried. Like I said, this probably won't be the last we'll see of Eris's Nyx form either, as I do plan on having more flashbacks/visible memories of Timmy's past, which would include when Eris/Nyx was his mentor.

1.) Most likely.

2.) One or the other, most likely.

3.) That, or because of some of the people Eris knows because she was the Greek Goddess of Chaos.

4.) Possibly, though it does make you wonder what he would have done with them afterwards, especially since Danny referred to Appatu as the last Observant.

5.) Yep.

6.) Exactly.

 **Guest:** Good guess. Also, I love the idea of someone just calling HIM Jim. I need to use that someday.

 **TheOrignalDARSH:** I'm really glad you liked it. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep up the quality for you. Thank you.

 **Guest:** Of the three, Jake Long is probably the most likely, as it's been way too long since I've seen Juniper Lee's show and I've never seen Randy Cunningham's (not that I think it's bad, I've just never gotten around to it). I try to avoid using characters I don't know very well in fear of misrepresenting them. Also, no, I've not read Universe Falls by MiniJen, though from a quick Google it appears to be a Steven Universe/Gravity Falls crossover, which are both shows that I like so I might have to give it a read someday. Thank you.

 **Brandon Storm:** Yeah, the Observants are not as far above mortals as they think they are. Not when they make that same mistake as most humans do and won't listen.

* * *

 **Chapter start**

"Alright, great origin story. Very angsty. Honestly, ten out of ten." Junior remarked sarcastically, getting a glare from Danny for his rudeness. "But let's get to the important stuff now: what can Timmy do?"

"Do?" Danny asked him.

"What are his powers? What spells does he know?" Junior clarified a bit heatedly, clapping his hands together. "If he's got others also calling him the God of Magic I assume he knows some magic."

Danny gave Junior an odd, passive look, like he was trying to figure out how to best say what he was thinking. "You're not wrong, obviously, but Tim's powers are…they're not the type of normal sorcery you'd expect. It's more complicated than that. …Well, actually I suppose what his main power is isn't that hard to explain. Simply put, Tim can absorb magic."

Junior cocked his head at that, cleaning out his ear like he thought he'd misheard the Ghost King. "He can…absorb magic?" He added skeptically.

Danny nodded. "Like I said, Tim was already Nyx/Eris's student by the time they found me. I have no idea what exactly she taught him or why she'd never used such a power herself, but that's the what he can do."

Junior still didn't look like he believed him. "You know that magic isn't exactly a constant, right? There's a difference between the power that lets you pull a rabbit out of a hat and the power that lets you smite your enemies with lightning."

"I know how it sounds but I'm telling you the truth." Danny defended. "I've seen it with my own eyes. If what you're saying about magic is right, then that explains to me why Tim always preferred absorbing more pure magic, the kind that fairies and genies use for granting wishes. But he can and has absorbed other kinds. One of the first big villains we ever faced together was the Lich and he would have easily killed us both if Tim hadn't done his thing. He didn't leave even a scrap of that monster behind."

The slightly haunted look in Danny's eyes as he thought back to his past told Junior that he was indeed telling the truth or at least what he believed to be true. Still, that didn't make matters much better.

"Alright, let's say you're right and that this Tim guy can absorb just magic in general." Junior said. "Discounting god knows what else you guys have fought and just thinking of the wish magic, the Lich's power, and probably some Greek God magics from Eris's side, even those are still dramatically conflicting natures that can't just mix. To have all three in one body would tear a person's soul apart, or at least drive them insane."

Danny gave a weak, mirth-less chuckle. "You have no idea how much I would love for all the crap Tim's done to just be because of the latter." He told him, obviously not believing the possibility.

For a moment, Junior did feel something of pity for the Ghost King as he looked over sadly at the curled up Appatu on the bed. But pushing those feelings aside, Junior tried to continue. "Alright, so I imagine he's definitely got a lot of power, probably more since you two split ways. But what can you remember him being able to do when you were travelling together? At this point, anything you could tell me could help me prepa-!"

Junior suddenly stopped himself, his eyes going wide and his words coming to a sharp halt, regaining the ghost's attention.

"Junior?" Danny asked him with concern.

Junior didn't even acknowledge Danny presence, too lost in what he was sensing.

"Glomulus?" He uttered as he felt the creature's body explode. "…Daniela!"

Danny had to shield his eyes from the sudden eruption of rubble, the noise of which caused Appatu to bolt upright from where he sat as before both ghosts was now a giant hole in the floor that Junior had created on his most direct path back to the infirmary.

Appatu immediately started to panic again. "No. Nonononono, it can't be open, it can't be open, I can't let him find me!" He cried, bunching up into the corner as far as he could go.

Between comforting the Observant again or following Junior, the choice was easily made for the Ghost King. "Stay here and don't move." Danny ordered Appatu as he flew down the hole without any hesitation, his command of the castle making the rubble seal the opening back up behind him, leaving Appatu alone in the darkness again as his only candle blew out.

* * *

After carving his trail of destruction through several floors, Junior finally burst into the infirmary, fist first through its ceiling. He immediately noticed the Fright Knight, still asleep next to the open door, a sight which did nothing to help ease the Reaper's current panic.

To some relief, Daniela was still standing next to the bed he'd left her at, though upon seeing the few blown away scraps of Glomulus left that littered the floor around her, Junior quickly rushed up to her.

"Daniela, are you alright?! What happened?!" He asked her worriedly, holding his sister by the shoulders as he checked her for any new injuries, thankfully not seeing any.

Daniela smiled sweetly at him, which was a bit odd to Junior despite it being what he wanted to hear. "I'm fine." She told him happily. Junior almost let himself breathe easy again…and that's when Dan's voice passed through her lips. "Wuss."

A bright green light aimed at his chest lit up Junior's moment of shock and confusion and the next thing he knew he was being blasted out into the hall through the wall, creating a brand new open hole right next to the door.

As Junior's head rang as he picked himself out of the rubble, his guard having been completely down, Daniela/Dan walked on cockily through the large hole, flexing the stiff fingers of his possessed hand. "Whew! This girl is not used to putting out that much power at once!" Dan laughed, oddly amused by the whole thing. "Let's fix that." He declared as he threw his arms forward to launch a single large stream of ecto-energy at his opponent.

Ready for the attack this time, Junior easily sidestepped the blast, allowing for the green beam to burst open multiple holes through the rooms it passed through as Junior got in close, grabbing Dan by the head and slamming him into the wall. It wasn't difficult to figure out what had happened and the very thought of it caused the rage-fuel burning red to overtake the Reaper's eyes.

"Dan…get out…of my sister's body!" Junior warned the ghost strenuously through his clenched teeth, one eye closed as he painfully tried to force the Red back down in fear of losing control of it.

Turning his head towards his opponent as much as he could while it was still in Junior's grasp, Dan just gave him a mocking smirk. "Ooh, nice scary eyes. Here's mine." He said as two twin beams leapt from his eyes to zip Junior's face. The damage of minimal, as Junior barely felt it, but it served as just enough of a distraction for Dan to open up a portal directly behind himself and allowing him to fall in.

The other end of the portal had opened up behind Junior's back, the Reaper turning his head to see his sister's possessed body emerging with his hand still gripping her head. Junior moved to attack but before anything could be done, Dan shut the portal, the closure of spacetime cutting Junior's right arm off above the elbow. As Dan expected, Junior barely gave a wince at his now green-blood spewing stump, meaning that as soon as he ripped the severed limp off from his face and tossed it aside Dan had to immediately go back on the attack, coming at Junior's flying fist with another glowing green palm of energy.

But before either of them could make contact, a large transparent green force field came down between them, blocking them off from each other.

"Alright, someone please explain why you two are wrecking my castle again." Danny said simply as Junior turned in surprise to see the ghost standing right next to him, the ecto-shield emitting from the king's open hand.

While he was just as surprised by the sudden appearance, Dan's smile showed he most certainly wasn't disappointed by it. "Danny. Long time, no see." He said to him, doing nothing to disguise his true voice coming out of Daniela's mouth.

Danny's hand gave a twitch, almost letting down the barrier in his shock. "Dan?" He uttered wide-eyed, barely able to say anything else in his state of alarm. "How…? How did you get in here?!"

"Did you miss me?" Dan asked him playfully from the other side of the barrier. "I missed you."

Tilting his head back before throwing it forward, Dan let loose his Ghostly Wail, the ultrasonic attack instantly creating numerous cracks and fractures along Danny's ecto-shield while completely obliterating the walls and ceiling around them. With the shield weakened, one good blast was all Dan needed to strike it with to shattered the barrier completely.

"…But my aim's getting better." Dan finished his line with a cocky shrug. "Waka wak-!"

Spotting it at the last possible minute, Dan just barely managed to dodge out of the way as Junior's severed arm leapt up at him, its palm having split open into a mouth that tried to sink its many rows of sharp teeth into.

The limb having missed its target, it simply crawled across the floor on its fingers back to Junior, leaping up and reattaching itself back where it belonged as Junior kept his attacks up, launching a volley of scythe-bladed chains from his chest at Dan, his rage fueling his impatience. "Dan! Get out of that body now before **I rip you out!** " He screamed, his fuming words momentarily slipping into the familiar echo of his blazing layer 3 form.

The blades on the ends all aimed directly for Dan's most vital areas, something that was quite plain to see.

But Dan didn't dodge out of the way. He made no attempt to make even the slightest move from his spot. And it wasn't out of fear…

Just barely an inch from Daniela's heart, joints, and the space between her body's eyes, the chains stopped, holding still where they were.

"Well…? Go ahead then." Dan told him confidently, staying where he was, completely unafraid of the many blades. "Rip my soul out from my daughter's body. Come on, stab me right here between the chesticles." He laughed as he pointed to the spot between Daniela's breasts where one of the chains pointed.

Danny looked between the two, confused as to what was the problem, especially upon seeing the twitching scowl on Junior's face as he held himself back.

"Still no?" Dan asked, playfully feigning ignorance. "Hmm…could it possibly be that you don't want to risk it and were just hoping I'd fall for your bluff?"

"Risk it?" Danny asked.

Dan chuckled, both at his former self's ignorance and Junior's hateful glare. "You ever seen what happens when you try to rip a ghost out of another ghost?" He asked rhetorically. "Ghost out of a human is easy but when a ghost somehow overshadows another ghost, well…things get a bit messy. That's why you had to beat on my kids for a little bit when my girl here overshadowed my son, huh Junior? You couldn't separate them until his body turned back to its human form, just like you can't get me out now without her being human, no? Not if you want her to still be in one functional piece afterwards." He added with a sadistic smirk.

With great reluctance, Junior receded all the chains back into his body, breaking them back down into regular Nergal flesh. "You bastard." He growled at Dan through his teeth.

"Is this how low you've fallen, Dan?" Danny finally spoke up. "You know you can't beat either of us so you decided to take a hostage to make us hold back?"

Dan gave another shrug. "You know, you might have a point about how ashamed of myself I should be. Lord knows I nearly broke blue boy's nose at first for even suggesting a use a human shield to keep myself safe from you. But, gotta keep those little end goals in mind, and a little bit of pride is a small sacrifice in exchange for what I'm hoping to get out of this. Still…you're right about how unfair it is that I get this kind of handicap. So…let's give you one too!"

From out of Daniela's body split off two clones, both with the same mad, cocky smile on their faces to show than Dan's conscious was in possession of them too. And from those two split off two more from each and from those four came out more duplicates, giving a total of fifteen ghosts gleefully standing off against the Demon Reaper and the Ghost King.

"There. Now you have tons of Daniela's you don't have to worry about killing!" They all said in unison, floating barely a foot off the ground as they all circled around each other, shuffling where the original had gone. "But be carefully not to rough up the main body too badly. Wouldn't want this to end too soon!"

With all possible targets gathered in such a small space before him, Danny knew what the most obvious first attack should be. Not allowing himself to be baited, he held out his palm against to the crowd, a ball of frost-colored cold energy gathering rapidly before it, readying itself to fire.

"Danny," Junior spoke up without looking at the king, gaining the ghost's attention. "If you hurt my sister, I will kill you." He stated coldly.

After a minute of silence passed between the two men, the cool, swirling energy finally faded away and Danny put his hand down, knowing Junior was serious. "Fine." The Ghost King said evenly. "But you better make sure you're taking on the right one. I can't imagine Dan's going to leave me out of this."

The toothy grins the clones give showed Danny was right, as a few of them dropped down into portals they created in the floor, popping up at the king's sides to attack him. Grabbing the clones' throats, Danny tossed them both over his shoulders fairly easily, his momentary glance at Junior sending the clear message to the Reaper that he _could_ have simply vaporized the both of them.

That in mind, Junior charged at the crowd, over half of the Dan/Daniela clones rushing happily to meet him while the remaining five moved to attack Danny.

Tentacles spreading out from Junior's arms, the appendages quickly wrapped around the eight Dan's surrounding him, holding them tightly as he slammed his body down through the floor, dragging the struggling clones along with him.

"I see." Danny remarked as his own opponents gathered around him, much to his apparent non-interest. "Keeping all the clones separated means Dan will have to exert more energy to make more and have less energy he can reabsorb. We won't have to beat on you if we can just exhaust you."

"Neat plan, too." Dan remarked as the clones continued to circle around. "But as I'm sure his mother could vouch, I don't get tired easily."

"…Not dignifying that." Danny remarked to himself before going on the attack.

* * *

Daniela peeked around the corner, feeling like she was nearly about to faint. "Oh my god, look at the size of that crowd." She uttered in near horror to herself as it seemed like nearly half the Underworld had been stuffed into the castle's ballroom. Hideous monsters and demons of all shapes and sizes (though with most looking damn good in a suit) chatting it up with each other and the skeleton waiters as they ate, drank, and waited for the ceremony to begin. At one end of the room she could see the ruler of the Nightosphere, Hunson Abadeer, speaking happily to Warden Walker, who's facial expression was practically begging for the old demon to shut up, while his son Eltros simply looked confused by whatever Hunson's daughter-in-law Queen Bubblegum was telling him. On the other end, near the buffet table Daniela spotted Chi and Mimi (mostly Chi) wolfing down whatever wasn't nailed down while their ten-year-old son, Akhim, practically clung to his human mother's leg, seeming a bit freaked by all the strangers around him. "I know mother told me the crowning ceremony was a big deal but to get some of the other lords to show up…"

Hiding herself back behind the corner where all the guests couldn't see her, Daniela racked through her memories. "I remember the months of preparation leading up to this day…how nervous I was of it arriving…" She said, as if to assure herself of that as she laid back against the wall. "I even remember having dreams and nightmares about screwing this day up because of how much I was anticipating it. …But what I woke up from today…I was a teenager, in the Ghost King's castle…where the king was my birth father from an alternate reality." She remarked dryly to herself on that last note. "Seems crazy and random enough to have just been a dream, but… It just seemed so real…"

Still trying to sort through everything, Daniela took her fingers and pinched herself in the side of her stomach.

"Ouch! Okay then, so this place at least is probably not the dream." She remarked, feeling kind of stupid.

"Good god, of course that wouldn't work, child." The Boogieman said as his robed form glided seamlessly beside her, sounding very insulted though not that Daniela could tell, still unable to see or hear him. "What do I look like, a hack? As long as you can remember pain it's the easiest thing in the world for me to make you _think_ you're feeling it. I'd show you in greater detail but I have to wait for Dan to finish his job."

The dream demon's words not even heard as a buzz in her ears, Daniela went back to watching the many guests, trying to work up the nerve to go out there.

"Ah! Dere be our girl of de day!" Said a thick Jamaican accent from behind Daniela that made her jump and instantly turn around. "We were worried fer a bit about how long ya were gonna stay in bed fer." The Grim Reaper said cheerfully to his step-daughter as he and Mandy came walking towards her, arm-in-arm.

"Mother. Father." Daniela breathed, touching her face, embarrassed about how easily spooked she was. "S-sorry. I guess sleeping in and just this day in general have put me a little off."

"I hear ya. I never got any sort of kingly title until yer mother here came along but I still remember how much of a wreak I was when I first officially became de Grim Reaper." Grim told her in assurance. "…Though I remember most of de guest who showed up ta our wedding, when Mandy declared herself queen, came mainly just ta laugh at me." He admitted in remembrance.

"True, but they spent the next several years cowering before my empire, so it all worked out in the end." Mandy remarked casually.

"It does make middle and high school easier ta look back on." Grim smiled, getting Boogie to roll his eyes.

Noticing that Daniela seemed to be slightly withdrawn from the both of them, Mandy unhooked her arm from around her husband's and said "Grim, why don't you go check with Charles to make sure everything's been properly set up."

After a moment of confusion as to why she'd ask him to do such a thing, Mandy's back and forth glance between him and Daniela got the message across to Grim. "Oh! Yes! I will…I will go do dat! Pardon me." He said, his acting not as subtle has he thought it was. As he turned to walk away, Boogie rolled his finger in the air and small bulge rose up in the carpet, which Grim proceeded to trip over, his bones scattering about like bowling pins when he hit the ground.

"Ahh, I love being petty." Boogie smiled to himself as Mandy rolled her exasperated eyes at the sight of her husband's many part rolling away in embarrassment.

Once Grim was out of sight, Mandy turned to her daughter. "You sure you're feeling alright? Nervous? Need something to eat?" She asked her.

Daniela politely waved off the offer. "No. Thank you, mother. I'm fine. Honestly, I'm sure anything I did eat right now would just being coming right back up, with how in jumbles my stomach feels." She said with a weak, noncommittal laugh.

Obviously thinking it was more than that, Mandy moved her hands to help straighten up the skirt of Daniela's lime green and black ballgown. "So, what's really got you thrown off?" She asked again.

Her mother's knowing eyes just as sharp as her mind, Daniela gave a sigh, giving into the question. "I… I had a dream last night." She told her, with slight hesitation and shyness. "I was a teenager in it, back when I was travelling with Junior."

"Ahhh, I see." Mandy said with a nod of her head. "Let me guess… In your dream you were getting smacked around something fierce and felt powerless."

Daniela's eye widened in surprise. "Y-yes! That's it exactly! With…with that Lantern machine and the Ghost King, how did you-?"

"It doesn't take much guesswork, Daniela." Mandy told her simply, holding her hands at her waist. "Your time with Junior may have strengthened your body but your confidence has always been something of a fluctuating point for you."

"Not a very queenly quality, one must admit." Daniela said sadly, withdrawing into herself again.

Mandy then gave her daughter a swift chop on the head with her hand, not hard enough to hurt her (much) but enough to regain her startled attention. "You're not the queen yet, Daniela. That title still belongs to me for about the next hour or so. So I suggest you listen to what your queen has to say." She told Daniela strongly as the younger woman rubbed the sore spot on her scalp. "I don't make mistakes. When you're queen you'll find you won't make any either. Out of all your siblings, I chose you to succeed me. And out of all your siblings, not one of them said anything other than "That makes sense"." Mandy placed her hand gently but with a firm hold on her daughter's shoulders, making sure she looked her in the eye as she spoke. "Like I told you years ago: You're my child. Someday you're going to have the entirety of existence groveling at your feet, no matter how weak you think you were back then. I chose you because I see the same willful fire behind your eyes that I saw behind mine. You are Daniela Grim and that alone makes you worthy. Got it?"

Daniela felt her eyes grow hot and she quickly used her sleeve to dry up any of the tears that'd forced their way through. "Y-yes! Yes, my queen!" She said, her words clearly deeply thankful.

"OH, THBPBPTHPT!" Boogie blew a raspberry with his tongue in disgust, giving a thumbs down with his hand. "Yeah, you can definitely tell these are the fantasies of a teenage girl. The Mandy I know would probably vomit uncontrollably halfway into a sappy speech like that."

Mandy took her hands of Daniela and looked over her proudly. "Now I want you to get out into that ballroom and show them all why they should be afraid of the hell you'll bring upon them all."

Daniela gave a chuckle, her mother's words just as blunt as ever. But then, walking up behind the still queen…

"Now, now, mother. Daniela has many years ahead of her. There is no fault to be found in pacing herself."

Mandy turned around to face the new arrival, allowing Daniela to see her as well, the sight make both her and Boogie nearly drop their stunned jaws.

It was a tall blonde woman, her hair much shorter than Mandy's despite the many other physical similarities. She wore a short aristocratic purple dress, only a few shades darker than her pink-hued skin and leggings, with a cloth rose at its collar. The woman's eyes, they had the same sharp glare as Daniela's and Mandy's, almost exactly the same save for the fact that the right eye was missing, stich marks leading down her cheeks from both sockets.

All of this was familiar, but it was the woman's smile, the smile that filled Daniela's heart up with sudden warmth, that made the woman instantly recognizable.

"Sister?" Daniela uttered in complete shock.

"Minimandy?" Boogie seconded that feeling as he found himself hardly able to move with the presence of the ragdoll woman suddenly before him. He'd just been reaching randomly into Daniela's subconscious to craft this dream, pulling into it whatever would keep her happy and unquestioning. For whatever reason, he'd not been expecting Daniela's happiness to involve Minnie of all people. He hadn't dared think he'd get so lucky.

That heated wetness starting to come back to her again, Daniela ran forward, practically pouncing on Minnie as she leapt into her body and hugged her tightly. Minnie was a bit taken aback by the forcefulness of the sudden move, but her soft expression showed that she understood and hugged her tenderly back. "I missed you too, dear sister."

After the moments of comfort had passed by, Daniela could hardly bring herself to release Minnie from her embrace. "Sorry." She apologized, slightly blushing as she stepped back to let Minnie get some air. "It's just…it's just been so long." She smiled happily at her sister, realizing now to her pleasant surprise that they were about the same height.

"I understand, as our feelings of joy are quite mutual." Minnie smiled back, Daniela realizing how much she'd missed her sister's elegant way of speaking. "I have not seen you since you were but a tot. I am saddened that my personal matters kept me way for so long but I assure you that nothing would have kept me away from my little sister's big day."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me." Mandy brought casually. "Junior called ahead, saying he'd be a bit late, but insisted that he'd still be showing up. Something about his plus-one being a jackass."

With the arrival of Minnie, this news seemed to hardly phase Daniela, nor did Boogie seem to care much about it either, gliding his way up behind Minnie. Reaching out, Boogie's hand melded into the woman's back, to no reaction from anyone.

"Again, Daniela, I do very much apologize for not being able to see you before now." Minnie told her, clearly not feeling Boogie's hand inside her. "But you know how busy I've been at _."

Daniela blinked and cocked her head. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, but you know how busy I've been at _." Minnie said again, her mouth still moving on the last words but no sound coming out.

Greatly put off by this, Daniela tried to gracefully use her finger to clean out her ear, wondering where her sudden deafness was coming from.

"Shit." Boogie swore as he removed his hand from out of Minnie. "You don't know where your sister is so your mind can't naturally fill in the blank. Great. Just great." He muttered bitterly at Daniela.

After another roll of Boogie's hand, Daniela was nearly knocked off her feet by the blasting sound of trumpets in the ballroom.

"Well, looks like it's time." Mandy remarked, looking back behind the corner, seeing all their guests start to simmer down and wait as the skeleton servants started bringing the chairs in. Mandy turned to Daniela. "You ready, kiddo?"

Daniela gave a final look back at Minnie, whom smiled encouragingly to her, helping Daniela feel strong again.

"This day is what I've always wanted." She said happily, her fists curled in determination and her fears feeling less and less by the minute. "Let's not put it off any longer."

* * *

"You can't have possibly thought you were going to win this, Dan." Danny stated coolly as one hard blow took out another clone, leaving just two more left. It'd be easy enough to take them both down right now but Danny remembered he had to be cautious, as either of them could be the real body. "I'm far more powerful than when we last met and that girl's body is probably limiting your power more than adding to it."

It was something Dan couldn't exactly deny, as even now he was holding his arm by the wrist as Daniela's hand twitched, painfully burned from all the ecto-energy Dan forced it to keep pumping out. Still though, despite the clear difference between them, both of the Ghost King's opponents smiled confidently at him, adding to Danny's rising concern.

"Well, you're not wrong." One of the Dan's shrugged as the other flexed its fingers into a fist, trying to get the feeling back into his borrowed hands again. "Fact is, with that crown atop your head and that ring on your finger you're probably packing more destructive power behind you than even old Pariah could at his peak. I should know, I fought him back in my timeline, in the future you could have had. Nearly got my hands on both the crown and ring too, but turns out our friend Mr. Dark was something of a sore loser and used their power to blow them both up along with himself after I beat him."

"What's your point?" Danny asked, carefully floating at just enough of a distance from his opponents so that he could react to whatever moves they'd make without risking them getting away. "You just said I'm more powerful than he was. Hell, taking these things entirely out of the picture, I know I'm stronger than Pariah when it comes to just pure natural ability. That's how I got them in the first place."

"Quite right you are." The other Dan said, speaking so easily when picking up right where the original had left off, possibly in an attempt to psych him out, Danny thought. "In fact, you got very lucky in that regard. If you weren't already so naturally powerful and able to intimidate others with that power, the crown and the ring probably wouldn't have worked for you in the first place."

That remark caught Danny off-guard, causing him to lift a questioning eyebrow. "Not work…? What are you talking about?"

At that comment, both Dan's just gave a smug smirk. "It took me years to find where our old cheesehead archenemy hid the Crown of Fire after I blew up his house. So, in the meantime, I did a little historical digging. I might be a brute but I'm not stupid. I wasn't going to risk gaining all that power just so Pariah could throw some trick or curse I didn't know about at me with them. So I learned everything I could about the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage. I know their history, how they were forged, how Pariah got his hands on them, their limitations, and, most amusingly, their weaknesses." He added with a tooth filled grin.

Danny's eyes widened by only a fraction of an inch, thanks to his emotional control, but the statement still came as quite bombshell. "You're bluffing." Danny declared simply matter-of-factly. "The crown and the ring are simple boosters to existing power, though admittedly very powerful ones. They aren't complex enough to have a weakness."

"Oh, but they do." The first Dan laughed as he wagged his finger mockingly at the king. "And I'm actually a little excited. I couldn't exploit the weakness before because it didn't apply to Pariah, but YOU, my former past self, have got this particular failing in abundance!"

In as just in the span of a single blink. Within the next second, that Dan's entire view was filled with nothing but the knuckles of the Ghost King's glove as his fist cracked against Daniela's possessed face. As that Dan was sent flying back, Danny turned his open palm to other before it could react, blasting him in a cascade of white and blue colors, trapping the Dan in a virtual glacier against the wall; frozen solid, but unharmed in case that was the main body.

It seemed to the punched Dan that as soon as he stopped tumbling and got his second wind back that Danny was on him again, palms in a blue glow. Reacting fast, Dan split off two clones of himself, one on each side as they threw up a barrier, catching the ice blast as it struck.

"Still not a very patient one, are ya?" Dan asked as he stood behind the two clones, still sounding confident but clearly in a sweat.

"Whether I believe you or not, what idiot just waits and let's his opponent make the first move after they've bragged about knowing their weakness?" Danny asked rhetorically, cutting off the blast as his palms' glow went from blue to green before he slammed his hands at the sides of the barrier, shattering it and crushing the clones into light from the impact. Dan had used the momentary distraction of his clones' destruction to put some distance between the two, though that strategy did put his back closer to the wall, so it wasn't without its drawback.

"Come on, aren't you even curious?" Dan prodded, floating where he was as Danny calmly made his way over to him. "I already gave you a hint. What's something that Pariah and I lack that you have way too much of?"

"Humility?" Danny asked dryly.

"Close, actually." Dan conceded with an admitting cock of his head. "It's doubt." He told him, getting Danny to give a small, confused pause. "Uncertainty. And just the overall feeling that you don't deserve what you have."

"Oh, and you do?" Danny quipped back, though without a smile.

"I certainly believe so, and so did Pariah." Dan stated, folding his arms smugly. "The crown and the ring aren't just booster rockets. They're the symbols of a king, and who's going to follow the lead of a king who doesn't even believe in himself?"

"They're objects."

"So were Poindexter's mirror, the Scarab Scepter, the Amulet of Aragon, Ember's guitar, the Infi-Map, and half the other stupid paranormal crap we dealt with when we were fourteen." Dan retorted, Danny not exactly able to push away his point. "It takes the strongest hand and the surest sense of judgment to manage all the chaos that is the Ghost Zone, Danny. More than anything, it takes will." He said, holding up a determined fist. "And will is something you lost a long time ago."

"Don't act like you still know anything about me, Dan." Danny warned him darkly.

"Oh, but I do still know a lot about you, and I can prove it with just one word." Dan told him, gleefully unfazed by any threat as his fist opened up and held up a single finger to his enemy. "Lilith."

Danny's entire body gave a jolt before freezing up completely, his eyes bursting wide open as his chest started to hurt, like he couldn't breathe. "…H-How…?" He barely managed to utter, his shocked form struggling to get the words out. "How could you possibly know that name…?!"

"Because we did used to be the same person." Dan explained simply, clearly proud of himself for getting under his old self's skin. "And while plenty of years have passed since our paths diverged, it would seem some things never change, at least not too much."

Danny's hands gave a bad twitch. He knew he had to attack. Dan was leaving himself wide open. …But the shock from what he'd said…that impossible knowledge that he had… Danny's ridged body couldn't bring itself to move.

"One of the first things I did after Clockwork let me out into this new timeline was to try and find you." Dan continued on. "Obviously, I couldn't. But one look around what remained of Amity Park filled in quite a few gaps for me, specifically the old newspapers and hospital records. Why you left. What happened to our family. …What happened to Sam." He smiled on that last bit.

Danny's hand finally started closing into a fist as he felt a boil start to overtake his body.

Dan held his hand on to his daughter's possessed chin, feigning pondering. "It's kind of weird to think about it, that maybe you shouldn't have saved everyone from the _Nasty Burger_ explosion. You would have saved them time on their way to wherever they ended up anyway."

It was like a bomb had erupted in Danny's hands as he threw his blazing green fists forward, the sound of the erupting ecto-blast carrying throughout the castle. The entire hall shook as it was filled with nothing but that blinding light.

When his attack ended, Danny had to drop his arms down to his knees, his palms practically sizzling as they rested against his knees. He panted heavily, his mind not even yet fully caught up to his body's emotionally-filled actions. But when the smoke cleared, the wave of Daniela's white hair showed Dan was still very much alive and still floating in the same spot as before.

And then Danny saw what his blast had actually hit. The now burning remains of the other clone, whom had melted his escape from the icy prison and taken the hit for the other Dan. And when Danny heard the dying clone's screams, the screams that sounded so much like the girl's and not her father's, Danny's mind snapped back to reality, almost instantly vomiting as he realized what he'd nearly done.

"Boy, you just can't stop killing people, can you?" Dan smirked at Danny's near horrified expression as the clone blew away into dust.

Still greatly shaken, Danny charged at Dan, clenching his pained fist as he knew he had to end this in one blow before this could go on any longer. To his surprise his punch actually connected, cracking across Dan's face.

But it didn't knock him out like it should have, only dealing enough damage to cough up a small amount of blood. _"Daniela's blood."_ Danny had to remind himself regretfully, holding back his instincts to blast his opponent at such a close range when it would certainly finish the fight.

He threw another punch, this one that Dan avoided, swerving around him to land his own sharp blow at Danny's side. It hurt him more than he expected but Danny pushed the pain aside as Dan left himself open, striking his knuckles across the possessed face again, and again not delivering the knock-out blow like he should be.

The next trade of blows was exactly that, as the fists of both ghosts repeatedly collided against each other, neither giving an inch. And as it continued, Danny could no longer ignore how alarmingly equal the fight was.

"I'm… I'm losing power." He finally realized, panting tiredly as he felt the red soreness of his knuckles under his gloves, a feeling of fatigue he'd genuinely not felt in years. "Why…?"

"Because in that moment of weakness just now, you exposed yourself as unworthy to the symbols of the king." Dan happily explained as Danny looked on at him with a pained glare. "Say what you want about Pariah but he had a rock-solid sense of self. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he was great, that he was THE Ghost King. Why do you think Skulker told us that no one other than him could use the crown and the ring? But you…? You didn't put them on because you wanted to be king. You barely even wanted the power they gave you. No… You put them on because they let you hide away from the rest of the world." He said, an actual hint of disgust in his words as he looked down upon Danny. "So that you could crawl under a rock and hope that if enough of the universe forgot about you, then you could forget too. After all, it wasn't like you were brave enough to try killing yourself again after this God of Magic guy the Boogieman wouldn't shut up about stopped you the first time."

The mention of his old friend's name finally caused Danny to jolt back into action, sending forward another ecto-blast, which Dan threw up an energy shield to block. The blast caused only minor cracks to appear in the shield's surface, but flying quickly up to it, one solid punch from Danny smashed right through it. "I still have plenty of my own power left, Dan." He told him defiantly.

"I know, and the fact that we're so apparently equal is really pissing me off!" Dan shouted, sidestepping Danny's next attack before sharply uppercutting his chin. "You ruin my future and this was the best you could replace it with?!" He snarled, his anger finally seeping through his cockiness from before. "I wanted to forget about what happened to our family too, remember? But when that didn't work, I didn't just keep trying to hide from what happened, I embraced it! I am responsible for the deaths of my family and friends! I'm directly responsible for the deaths of a lot of people! And what does it say about you that I, your worst possible future, you ultimate enemy, can do what you can't and live with what I've done?!"

As he had been talking, Danny now noticed that Daniela's white hair was slowly starting to rise up, emitting white embers that were the signal of the coming flames. Her hands were twitching worse than before as they gave off the near constant glow of ecto-energy and at various parts of her body, not just her arms, that energy looked like it was ready to just flaking and burning her skin off.

"Dan… Daniela's body, your daughter…she can't handle all the power you've got running through her. Her body isn't developed enough to deal with the strain. You're going to end up crippling her, if not outright killing her!"

Dan ignored Danny's words, striking his former past self across the face again with his glowing fist, twitching only slightly at the pain his possessed arm felt.

"So let me describe your life after you "made the right choice" and avoided becoming me." Dan said bitterly to Danny as he wiped the blood away from his mouth from the last attack. "You tried to protect people, and they died. You tried to start a family, and they died. You ran away, and they died. You had everything we both ever wanted and look at what you let happen to it. And now, after you have nothing left to lose and have gotten as far away from everything that could hurt you as possible, someone's still going to die because you weren't enough to save them." Dan told him, pointing his thumb inwards to Daniela's chest.

Danny glared weakly at Dan, the repeated blows to the head having made his sight slightly unfocused. "You'd kill your own daughter just to make a point to me?" He said with deep loathing and anger towards the ghost.

What Dan did next, Danny was not expecting.

Dan started laughing.

"You? What makes you think ANY of this is about you?" Dan asked in-between his mad continuous cackles. "You're at best a footnote. A stepping stone on my path. The most significance you have in this story is that you just happen to have something I want."

It took Danny's hazy mind a minute but upon realizing what Dan meant, Danny quickly covered his ring hand with his other. "No! I'll destroy them before I ever let someone like you get ahold of them!" He shouted up at Dan.

"Then go ahead. Do it." Dan told him calmly, staying floating where he was. "Of course, if you do, then I'm just going to keep fighting you and Junior in this body, which will eventually kill her."

"What do I care?! She's not my daughter!" Danny snapped at him.

"Now, now. Don't try too hard to convince me that we still have plenty in common." Dan chuckled, getting a tooth-filled scowl from Danny, though one that slowly closed as the king's thoughts became more bitter and hesitant.

"…I've seen the kind of future you create when you're allowed to run wild." Danny spoke, holding his ring hand so tightly with protectiveness that Dan thought he might be about to accidentally break it. "Someone like you should never have this kind of power!"

"True." Dan said simply, not bothering to deny it. "Both you and the entire human race wouldn't have stood a chance if I'd been able to get the crown and ring back in my timeline. But see…that's the funny thing about time, how much people can change when you haven't seen them for a while." Dan said with a smirk, to Danny's confusion. "Because, you see, I don't care about humans or their world right now. I'm not planning any big genocides to celebrate my crowning. Right now, the only thing I care about is settling a score with someone. You already know him actually. He tried to eat you a few hours ago."

Danny blinked at the comment. "Grim Jr…?"

"That's the guy." Dan nodded with a smile. "You think what you fought against was powerful? I've seen another form of his. One that took me out in a single blow and that the only reason I didn't die is because he didn't feel like I was worth killing. The reason why I want the crown and ring is so that I can force Junior to bring out that form again, and then beat the hell out of him for holding back on me all these years."

Danny said it all in his glare. "You're insane." He uttered.

Dan shrugged. "Maybe. But let's see if your logistical skills fare any better." He remarked. "You can either a.) blow up the crown and ring and we'll keep fighting until I completely break this girl's body or we end up killing her, or b.) you give them to me, I let the girl go, and you put your bets on the hope that the Demon Reaper's hidden form is somehow enough to put me down for good. So, what'll it be, Mr. Right Choice?"

Noticeably, Danny gave no immediate answer.

* * *

The spiked obsidian crown of Death's kingdom did not weigh as heavily upon Daniela's head as she'd always thought it would. In fact, it was actually quite the perfect fit, hardly any need for adjustment.

The coronation ceremony had wrapped up mere moments ago, sending everyone back into the festive mood of eating, drinking, and dancing all across the ballroom. From where she was standing, Daniela could see Manny dancing with Mimi, Chi nearby barely keeping her laughter contained as Daniela's twin tried desperately to keep up with Mimi's lead. Her parents were off at a corner table, Mandy kicking back with a cigarette by herself as she was rarely very social, while Grim had hardly even touched his glass of presumably cyanide, he and Minnie too greatly enjoying whatever it was they were talking about. Daniela would have loved to go join them, but at the moment she was a bit trapped by the sea of people wanting to talk to her.

"So, Daniela, babe, now that you're queen, what do ya say we talk trade negotiations, huh? Try to get some more souls flowing do to my neck of the damned, eh?" Hades asked, the ashy scent of his blue flaming hair nearly choking Daniela.

"Any changes you make to the borders, you'd better run your plan by me first." Warden Walker warned her.

"Can me and Truckie count on your RSVP for our daughter's wedding?" Goose God asked her, his truck wife honking in the background in agreement.

"Are you going to do anything about the rising Ammit problem?"

"The leprechaun nation would be most grateful fer yer kingdom's support against the unicorn menace out there, lassie."

"You're not really going to rule the undead with that haircut, are you?"

"What are your opinions of these filthy mole people?"

"Do this look swollen to you?"

"May I have this dance?"

The owner of that last voice took her by the hand, pulling Daniela gently away from the swarming crowd. Daniela turned to slap whoever dared manhandle her like so, but looking up from the man's black suit and tie, her hand halted its path to his face, seeing the familiar blue and grey heterochromatic eyes.

"Junior!" She exclaimed happily, pulling her hand away with some embarrassment from where she would have struck his currently human colored flesh before hugging him.

"Good to see you, little Valkyrie." Junior said, slightly teasing her with that old nickname as he hugged her back. "Sorry again that I was late but I had to pick of your gift." He told her as he broke up the hug, pointing proudly over to the section of the ballroom where all the presents people brought were being stored. It was not difficult to tell which one was Juniors, as next to all the colorfully wrapped packages sat Dan Phantom, his arms bound behind him as his entire body was wrapped in chains, save for his face which had an iron mask binding his jaw shut, none of which he was clearly happy about.

"…Why is he wearing a muzzle?" Daniela asked the obvious.

"Because he is a biter." Junior told her simple, showing her the still healing Nergal flesh of his hand with the quite obvious teeth marks.

Boogie glided up to the captured Dan, chuckling a bit in amusement. "You know…all things considered…I'm really glad I'm here right now." He remarked slyly to himself as he pulled out his phone from his robe (its case as blue as his skin) and snapped a quick picture before making the device vanish in a puff of smoke. "That's one for the album."

"I know you and your father don't exactly have the best relationship. …Or really any relationship at all. But I wanted to make sure you didn't feel like you had anything missing out on your big day." Junior said to his sister, his tone light but clearly with hopes that she liked it.

It was an odd gesture certainly, to say the least, but Daniela gave a flattered blush from how sweet it was regardless. "Thank you, Junior." She said, a gracious tip of her head. She then got a bit of a mischievous smile. "Though because you were late, I am going to have to insist you make good on your offer of a dance." She told him.

Junior gave her a raise of his eyebrow but his smirk told her he was quite fine with this stronger attitude. "Barely queen for ten minutes and already giving orders. You were born for this." He joked with her.

Daniela's smile shared his amusement. She then looked at all the guests around them. "Yes, though I don't think this crowd will be quite as easy to make a break from with just an order." She remarked, given more of them seemed to be closing in around them.

"Leave that to me, your highness." Junior smirked, smugly adjusting his tie as he stepped between Daniela and the crowd. His back was turned completely towards her, so Daniela couldn't see exactly what Junior did with his face when it tore open, other than that it involved an unearthly screech and a lot of tentacles. Upon seeing the sight, the white-faced guests immediately parted, leaving a nice wide-open path to the center of the ballroom. Restructuring his face, Junior turned back to Daniela, offering her his arm. "Shall we, my queen?"

"We shall." Daniela said delightedly as she took his arm, allowing him to lead her down onto the dance floor.

Turning to face each other, hand-in-hand, with her left touching just above his elbow while he held her waist, the two started to perform the basic slow dance, not that Daniela minded, of course.

"Apologies in advance by the way in case I step on your feet." Junior said to her as they went through the motions, Junior leading in-tune best he could with the music. "I'm light on my feet in battle but dancing is something I have a bit less practice in."

"I know." Daniela said, smiling sweetly to show it was no problem. "I was with you for some of those "light-footed" battles, remember?"

"I do." Junior nodded, chuckling. "To be honest, even though it's been a few years since you came back to the castle, I got so used to having you out there with me that I sometimes miss having my sidekick at my back."

"Sidekick?" Daniela laughed, jokingly feigning an offended tone. "And here I thought we were student and recklessly-endangering teacher, if not partners in crime."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, now that you're queen you can technically punish me for calling you names you don't like." Junior suggested thoughtfully. "Banish me, put a bounty on me, or just lock me up in the dungeons for a couple hundred years."

"Nah, that's okay." Daniela said, leaning forward to rest her head against his chest, closing her eyes restfully. "I'd just make you have more dances with me."

"And that's a punishment how?" Junior asked.

"Because I wouldn't let you wear these thick boots that I keep accidentally stepping on." Daniela told him with a smile that he couldn't see but could certainly feel next to his chest.

"Heh…" Junior chuckled again, resting his chin atop her head and her soft black hair. "Somehow…I think I'd find a way to power through it."

And so the two continued their dance, their slow movements and twirls slowly cutting across the dancefloor, Daniela feeling like they were the only two there.

Not seeing Boogie nearby, giving a gagging gesture with his finger pointed to his open mouth.

* * *

"…You know, I'm starting to suspect you've had practice with this kind of thing." Dan remarked in amusement as he and the other clones were pinned against the walls, each ghost bound in a separate tentacle grown out from Junior's body, his Reaper abilities preventing any of them from phasing out of his grip. "Let me guess…Wuya? I know from experience she can get a little freaky. Especially because when you're not doing bondage because she'll try to do this weird praying mantis thing where she-!"

The tentacles constricted, knocking the air out of all the Dans and getting him to be quiet.

"Get out of my sister." Junior ordered darkly, his pained expression despite his threat making it clear he was giving a great effort to keep himself from snapping again. "She doesn't have anything to do this!"

"You're right. She doesn't." A different Dan than the original spoke up this time, to Junior's left. "This is between you and me. Always has been."

"Then get out of Daniela's body!" Junior yelled, pinching his nails into the palm of his clenched fist to keep himself under control. "If it's a fight you want, then I'll sure as hell give you one! Lord knows you've pissed me off enough!"

"No, no, not until I'm certain you won't be holding anything back." Dan shook his head mockingly, much to Junior's irritation. "You see, you're the end goal. I still have one more step to check off the list before I'm ready to take you on again."

"What? What are you up to?" Junior asked, his tentacle bringing the current talking Dan closer to his face.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough." Dan smirked, not yet willing to give everything away. "I will say that part one went way better than expected. Boogie said his master's plan was just to get me in here and separate you and Danny. None of us were expecting my kid to show up but we had an opportunity and we took it."

The blue-skinned hologram he saw back in the Grimskull infirmary flashed through Junior's mind. "Boogie…? The Boogieman? You're working with him?" Junior questioned his captive, a few things already connecting in his head.

"What can I say? The man came up to me with a good plan and I've been wondering what my former past self has been up to all these years." Dan said, shrugging casually as he could while still bound by Junior's appendage. "I don't know who this God of Magic guy is but you and Danny must have done something royal to piss him off enough to where he wants to make damn sure you won't get in his way."

"Offhand, I'm guessing the two of you have a lot in common. He also won't just come out and fight me." Junior snipped.

"I told you, I'm working on it. In fact…" Dan paused, as if he was listening for something. "It should be just about done by now."

Junior eyed him in confusion, trying to somehow decipher any meaning in his words. "What's done? What are you talking about?! What are you try to-…"

Junior cut himself off, a wave of realization suddenly hitting him.

"You're not actually here with me." Junior uttered in shock.

Dan smirked heavily at the Reaper, before one by one, all the clones popped out of existence in a show of light until it finally got to the Dan closest to Junior, whom then did the same.

All eight clones were gone. Junior was the only one left in the room.

"Danny…!" Junior mouthed as he took off up the holes he'd created through the ceiling, now knowing where the real body was.

* * *

"God, this is boring!" Boogie groaned in frustration, leaning back as far as he could go in his seat. Time was never a set thing for anyone in the dream world. Real hours could feel like minutes and real minutes could feel like hours and it certainly felt like the former for the blue demon.

Three different dance had Daniela and this world's Junior gone through, two slow and one a more upbeat jazz thing. Afterwards, when the ballroom finally started to feel a bit too crowded, the two came out here onto the balcony to get some air and privacy, where they'd been standing for several minutes now under the dark red sky of the Underworld just…talking.

"Seriously, Dan, hurry it up. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take." Boogie moaned as Daniela gigged for about the fifth time over past events between her and Junior that'd never happened.

Junior finished his own chuckled before looking down to where Daniela's head was. "You're really hanging on to my arm there, aren't you?" He smiled.

Daniela's head jerked up, not having realized that she still had her arms wrapped around her brother's as they'd both been leaning forward onto the stone railing. "Oh! I'm sorry! I did not mean to-!"

"It's fine." Junior told her kindly, gently placing his hand on her forearm to keep her from pulling it way. "Keep it there. Like I said, I've been missing you since you left."

The red flush returned to her cheeks, but this time, for whatever reason, Daniela found it easier to go along with the warmth it also brought her, squeezing Junior's arm tenderly and letting herself lean to her side, closing her eyes again as she rested lovingly against his shoulder, smiling as she felt Junior's other hand hold her close.

"Not the worst day you've ever had, I'm guessing." Junior asked her.

"It's certainly climbing a very pleasant ladder." Daniela sighed contentedly, feeling very relaxed. "…Junior, when the festivities are over…will you be leaving again?"

"If you want me to." Junior replied simply.

"I think we both know I don't." Daniela said, opening her eyes to lazily gaze out at the endless crimson horizon. She gave a small chuckle. "I can still remember when we first started travelling together, how attached to your hip I was, practically helpless without you around."

"You grew out of it." Junior told her.

"Somewhat, I suppose." Daniela said, though still thinking of her dream involving the Ghost King. Why could she not quite remember how it ended? "But sometimes I still can't help but think of myself as that little girl. Especially today. It may sound self-pitying but perhaps it's also a good thing. Something there to remind me to keep growing. To become the kind of queen mom is. …Was, now, I suppose."

Junior looked down at her for a moment before casting his sight back at the horizon like she was, clearing his throat. "You know…staying in one place for a while wouldn't be the worst thing ever at this point in my life." He tried to shrug off casually, to Daniela's notice. "I'm well-travelled and it might be nice to focus my abilities to a cause for once. You know, give them purpose other than just collecting money for my next meal."

Daniela looked up at Junior. "What are you saying?" She asked.

Junior rubbed the back of his head, mussing up his thick brown hair. "Just that…well…I've never had much interest in being a ruler. Too much responsibility. But every queen needs her loyal knight, and with Charles getting up there in years…I don't think I'd be the worst replacement for him in your reign."

Daniela looked at her brother, gaping, hardly sure if she dared to believe what she was hearing. "You'd… You'd stay to help me?" She asked.

"I'd stay for you." He corrected her with tender smile, brushing his hand gently on her cheek to get the hair out of her eyes. Without even thinking, Daniela held her own hand up to his and kept it pressed against her cheek. It was rough and callused from years of battle, but still gentle and warm against her skin, just as she'd always imagined it'd be.

"Junior…" Daniela spoke, her voice hesitating and her eyes looking down to avoid meeting his as the emotions twisted themselves up horribly inside her stomach. "Before you make up your mind about staying… There's something I need to tell you. Something I've wanted to tell you for a long time… Junior…I…"

Daniela never got the chance to finish her words. The hand upon her cheek slid gently back behind her head, pulling her carefully forward to wear Junior's lips met her own.

Daniela felt her heart explode inside her chest. Junior was kissing her. That was the only thought she could hear inside her head, the simple action drowning out everything else. Her eyes were bugged at first but they quickly closed to match Junior's, Daniela throwing her arms unhesitant around his neck, then feeling Junior's muscular arms scoop in on her back, bring her in closer.

Once again, there was nothing else in Daniela's world, save for the two of them.

And the Boogieman, whom sat blinking in a double-take due to his surprise of what Daniela's mind had conjured up for her.

"…Fuck it, it's something." Boogie finally said, accepting what he was seeing as he leaned back again in his chair, conjuring himself up some dream-popcorn and a carton of zombie milk.

* * *

After the many moments of uncertainty, the white hoops of light appeared around Danny's waist, the two circles spreading out across his body, reverting the ghost back to the fleshy human form he'd not felt himself within in years.

"Really? A _Fenton Works_ brand jumpsuit?" Dan asked with a raised eyebrow as he felt the wave of nostalgia hit him upon seeing the full-body orange clothing, complete with black boots and gloves (though noting with interest the NASA emblem stitched on Danny's left side). "I honestly don't know if I find that funny or disgusting."

Danny gave no words in response, simply sliding the Ring of Rage off his finger before taking of the crown. To his heart's slight pain, Danny realized how dim the flames emanating off the crown had become; a testament to how weak his fighting spirit had become as he held both objects out with open hands to Dan.

Junior came up through the hole he'd previously made in the ground, just in time to witness Dan slide the ring onto his finger.

"No!" He yelled out, moving far too slow to stop Dan from putting on the crown.

The sheer power that blazed out from Dan's body was beyond compare, its mere presence pushing both Danny and Junior back. The crown's fire burned so fiercely that the stone ceil above started to boil as the rising flames licked it. Dan's pained moans turned to a sustained roar, his body barely able to contain the energy he felt welling up within him. All around them, Junior could practically hear the bricks of the walls rattling within their molds as Dan's pressure filled the hall.

Somehow, whether intentional or not, Daniela's body reverted to its human form, which then fell away to the floor as Dan's true form floated above her, the crown and ring still in his possession. Running forward, Danny caught Daniela before her face would have hit the ground. Her arms were in bad shape and her nose was possibly broken, but she was otherwise alright, save for the fact that she was still deeply unconscious.

After a single long, stretching moment, Dan let out a breath, feeling himself adjust to his new power. "See, Danny? Junior? Just like I promised." He said proudly, gesturing to Daniela's injured body in Danny's arms. The white flames of his hair had enveloped the crown, causing the two different colors to somehow burn peacefully beside each other as the green outlined the white's edge. "I might be a monster, but I keep my promises. Which reminds me!"

Pointing just a single finger forward, Dan sent a thick ecto-blast bursting from the tip of his glove, shooting straight through Danny's chest and out his back.

"That's for trapping me in a thermos for twenty years." Dan said simply as his former past self's shocked expression spewed the sudden rush of blood out from his mouth, dropping Daniela as he himself fell.

"Danny!" Junior exclaimed, running forward to help them as Dan now turned his attention to him. As Junior charged forward, Dan held up his hand to him, but not to blast.

Dan snapped his fingers.

It was like a jet had struck Junior. The sudden sonic boom creating a wall of pure force that sent him flying back, tumbling far down the hall until his lashing grip on the floor finally stopped his moment.

"What…?" Junior panted, getting himself back up to his knees as his panicked eyes saw the large distance just the single impact had put between them. "What the hell was that attack?!"

"That, my friend, is a little something I've been trying to make work for years." Dan explained as he walked casually forward, proudly rubbing his fingers to his thumb in front of his face. "Basically I'm taking the ultrasonic principles behind my Ghostly Wail and trying to apply it to other parts of my body. In theory, it's easy. Just have to apply the right amount of power to a part of my body that makes noise, like how my throat makes the wail. The problem has always been getting enough power from my core to that body part, which, as you can see, is no longer a problem."

The Nergal flesh of Junior's right arm spread out quickly, grabbing at every bit of debris the many battles had knocked loose and pulling them all together as the black flesh formed a practical cannon around his bones up to his shoulder. Like a Gatling gun Junior fired the rubble rapidly at his enemy, each bit of red rock screaming with Junior's own added green energy.

Dan snapped his fingers again and Junior's assault was reduced to mere dust as he was knocked back again.

"I call it my Ecto-Clap, like a thunderclap." Dan stated after the echoes of the boom faded. "…Or at least I would if I clapped my hands to make it." He added, stroking his beard genuine pondering. "Ecto-Snap? Ecto-Crack? Maybe just Ecto-Boom? Ehh, I'll figure it out later. In the meantime, enough about me! Let's kill you!"

Junior didn't even have time to blink when he felt Dan's fist smash upwards into his ribcage, the great distance between them closed in an instant.

" _I couldn't even see him move!"_ Junior realized as he vomited up the excessive amounts of green blood that'd been forced up his throat from his Nergal core.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel good to have someone up to their elbow in your chest, does it?" Dan asked mockingly as he could feel the crushed bones around his glove, almost like powder.

Growling at his enemy in both in his pain and anger, Junior grabbed Dan by the arm that was within him, holding the ghost tightly as the flesh around his wound morphed into a large second mouth, its rows of sharp teeth clamping down around the appendage, spewing hot ectoplasm across both men's chests. Not leaving anything to chance, the rest of Junior's flesh lashed out as numerous spikes, all directly striking across Dan's full body and skewering him until each pointed end was at least three feet behind his back.

"Huh. Touché." Dan remarked casually despite the at least five separate spikes going through his head and mouth, much to Junior's alarm.

Feeling the rapid burn increase within his chest, Junior soon saw the green light that came flooding out from within his chest, mere seconds before Dan's ecto-blast went off, blasting back whatever parts of Junior's body the power didn't immediately obliterate.

Junior's head and limbs bounced off the walls and onto the floor without any torso to connect them, much to Dan's amusement whom, with the spikes now destroyed, was swiftly regenerating everything on him that Junior had damaged. "I'll admit, I always was a little jealous of how much faster your healing factor was." Dan smirked at Junior's skull, all the holes in his head filling back in good as new. "This shit's amazing. Go on then. Now you, I'll wait."

True to his word, Dan didn't make a single move towards Junior as the black flesh of his limbs joined with the swarming bone dust of his destroyed spine and ribs to start forming a new core for his body.

" _This is bad."_ Junior remarked to himself as his head sprouted thin tiny legs and crawled its way over to his reconstructing torso. _"The fight's just started and I can already tell I'm not going to be able to keep up with him. Not in this form at least."_ His head reattached to his neck, the muscle and skin fusing as he was finally able to stand back up. Feeling that familiar hateful fire still burning behind his eyes, Junior winced slightly as he tried to suppress it again. _"Maybe the Demon Reaper Beast might be able to hold him off for a bit."_

Junior placed his open palm upon the wall, spreading the Nergal flesh out upon it to absorb it into his being, like when he'd briefly fought against Danny. But before any true progress could be made, Junior felt a swift slam into his back as a second Dan suddenly appeared from behind, kicking him hard in the spine and sending him flying. Already ready for it, the original Dan caught Junior by the skull with one hand before he could get past him. Slamming the Reaper's head into the wall, Dan flew forward like a maniac, carving a path all the way down the hall with Junior's face. Of course, not wanting to be left out of the fun, the Dan clone flew at their oncoming approach, fist excitedly pulled back. When the original brought Junior's horribly scraped face out of the brickwork, it was only so it could meet with the clone's punch, travelling at several miles per hour in the opposite direction.

When the bricks stopped vibrating from the shockwave, Dan dropped Junior's limp body to the ground, giving him another minute to correct his now caved-in skull. "Wrong form, Junior." Dan said as he and his clone slid back into each other, becoming one again. "You know the one I want to fight. Bring it out."

Junior could hear the unpleasant sounds in his ears of bone grinding upon bone as his face fixed itself. "Dan…I can't do that." He said, pleadingly.

Next thing Junior knew, there was a massive hole in the floor where his legs once where.

"In case it's not obvious, I'm not taking refusals right not." Dan warned him simply as steam wafted off his hand from the blast he'd just made. "The Ghost Rider power, this Layer 3 form of yours you've kept hidden from me for all these years. Bring it out. Now."

"Dan, you don't understand!" Junior yelled, trying to tell him before letting out a separate yell of pain as Dan blasted off the arm that tried to reach out to him.

"Then explain it to me." Dan demanded with a very irritated glare.

Junior's remaining hand desperately clutched at the loose dirt and debris littering the floor around them both. "Dan…I can't control it." Junior said, begging for the ghost to listen. "I didn't hunt down the Rider for his power. I needed it to help me fight against the Devil's Essence. The curse I'm carrying inside my body."

From Dan's slight change in expression, it seemed like Junior was getting at least somewhat through to him, at the very least because this was the first he was hearing about the Essence.

"…But the Red…it was too strong. Overtime, it infected the Rider's power. The more I use it, or too much of any of my powers…the more I give in to the worst parts of myself." Junior looked up at Dan, pleading. "Dan…the more I let that control slip…the more I let myself fall into my rage…the more I risk never coming back out of it. And when I'm like that…I don't care about who I hurt. You saw what I did to your kids. What I almost did to my dad… To my mother…" He lowered his face into the ground, the shame of his actions overwhelming him.

A long moment of silence passed between the two after Junior's final word. Shifting slightly where he stood, Dan folding his arms, closing his eyes in contemplation. "I see. That explains a lot actually." He said simply, Junior having trouble finding his tone. "I don't know about this Devil's Essence business, but put simply, you'd rather be beaten to death than let yourself become a monster. I suppose I can understand that. I don't like it, but I can understand it."

For a second, hope rose in Junior's chest.

Reopening his eyes, Dan looked down the hall, back the way we came. "We haven't actually moved all that far away from where we started." He commented evenly. After getting a look in confusion from Junior as to what he was talking about, Dan gave a single nod in the direction he was looking, getting Junior to turn his head back too.

Perhaps barely over a hundred feet down their line of sight, there laid both the bodies of Daniela and Dan, the latter of whom still painfully clutching his chest, trying to keep the blood in from where Dan had shot him.

Junior then saw his shadow being stretched out on the floor by a bright green glow.

Turning his head sharply back in horror, Junior saw Dan's hand outstretched, the charging ball of energy floating before his open palm aimed at the two injured humans.

"Dan, no! Please!" Junior begged, his Nergal flesh forming a knife in his hand that he used to desperately stab the ghost in the foot, to which Dan didn't even flinch.

Dan said not a single word as the energy crackled in his hand, sparks flying down his arm.

"Dan, she's my sister! Your daughter!"

The energy ball started to make a high-pitched whine as its brightness reached its max.

"Dan! DON'T DO-!"

The blast erupted from Dan's hand, its energy filling the full width of the hallway as it blazed along like pure blinding light.

Junior had never felt the heat behind his eyes burn so intensely as he forced himself to move.

The ecto-blast had lasted only for a few seconds before Dan cut it off, as that short time had caused more than enough damage to satisfy the ghost. The hallway was in complete shambles and judging from the far-off green dot of light at the hall's end, he'd punched a sizable hole through the castle's outer wall. Though at the moment there was another source of light that had Dan's very pleased attention.

Having lost so much blood so quickly, Danny's vision had greatly started to dim, only able to make out the sight in front of him because of how bright it was. How furiously the flames that poured out from under Junior's hood and sleeves burned as they covered his bones. The untouched floor around them came to an almost perfect point where Junior's regrown legs stood, that along with his raised, smoking forearms that he now lowered to stop protecting his face showed that he'd taken the full brunt of the blast for Danny and Daniela. More importantly, it showed he barely even flinched at the incredible power.

Dan stood across the wide gap from him, the ghost's face smiling widely as the flames of freeing power blazed off Junior's body.

"There you are." Dan said excitedly, cracking his knuckles as his own power choking the air around him.

If he'd ever had a heart in this body of his, Junior could only imagine how hard its blood would be pounding in his ears right now.

" **You wanted me mad, Dan?"** Junior asked, barely able to contain himself either. **"Fine. I'm MAD!"**

The instant Junior's foot left the ground and he and Dan had already closed the wide distance between them, their fists colliding.

Anyone standing outside of the red-bricked castle would have seen the fortress momentarily suck in upon itself.

Before a mere second later did the shockwave from Junior and Dan's impact blow apart the entirety of Pariah's Keep.

 **Chapter end**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** I originally meant to have this chapter out around the same time as the last oneshot but _When you wish upon a skull_ ended up being much longer than I thought it'd be, so this chapter got pushed back. Sorry about that.

Anyway, it's finally time for the big slugfest I've been planning for a few chapters now. In this corner, weighing less than air due to his spectral body, the newly crowned king of the Zone, the ghost with the most! Dan Phantom!

And in this corner, weighing anywhere between 24 pounds and 600 tons depending on how he chooses ta fight ya, the shape-shiftin', fire blazin' Demon Reaper himself, the skull destined to cull! Grim Jr!

Whoever wins, the Ghost Zone is still royally f**ked.

Which reminds me, hope Danny and Daniela are okay, considering they just had the entire castle explode around them from the shockwave of Junior and Dan's punch. …Nah, I'm sure they're fine.

…Hee…

By the way, I would very much appreciate any suggestions for what to name Mimi and Chi's actual child when it comes, as Akhim (and Jackie) was genuinely the best I could think of. Doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl's name, I'd just like some ideas.

* * *

 **QTP:** Who or what is Lilith and why did the word break Danny's will? Is Danny going to be okay after being shot by Dan? Why does Boogie want to know where Minimandy is? What will happen to Daniela in the dreamworld now that Dan is no longer overshadowing her? And how will the fight between Junior and Dan end?


	21. Junior vs Dan

**Part 21: Junior vs. Dan**

 **Brave2000:** I do have a couple of ideas for where the Devil's Essence came from and what it is. For now, until I get my own concrete interpretation of the Red, I'll likely just be going with what the SNAFU wiki has for it where Griddles said that it's an embodiment or remains of Giygas from the Earthbound video game. Though there's nothing that says I can't add my own lore onto that to tie it it more with HIM's backstory (especially because I've never played Earthbound).

Also, it's not just how wicked and powerful the Devil's Essence is, but what it's bringing out in Junior himself that's causing even the Rider's power to be corrupted.

 **neverendingZero:** Yeah, if Mandy had more imagination for names in the Grim Tales continuity, I can totally see her also naming a kid Lilith like Sam would (helps that they have the same voice actor I believe). And regardless of who the father of Chi and Mimi's child may or may not be, they are still the ones who want to have and raise the baby, so naturally they'd be the ones picking the name.

 **DPSS:** 1.) You make a fair point, though do remember that Dan said he knew the name because he and Danny used to be the same person, so the name Lilith had significance to the two even back when Danny was 14 and it apparently popped back up when Dan was finding out what happened to Amity Park and his family while he'd been kept locked up by Clockwork.

2.) It's probably cheating on my end since I'm the writer, but I'd take those odds.

3.) Something like that. Also, Boogie and the other villains do already know about Minnie's feelings for Junior. Like Eris pointed out, they know about Junior's secret lust for Mandy, so their spy work certainly didn't miss something even more obvious.

4.) As you'll see in this chapter, one of your guesses came pretty close to the truth.

5.) Again, probably cheating, but I'd bet against the unorthodox bet.

 **Algremnon:** Not bad guesses. Though anything bright seen in these chapters is most likely going to be hellfire and ecto-blasts rather than sunshine and rainbows.

 **Brandon Storm:** Alright, I like that one. I'll add it to the list of possibilities.

 **coldblue2015:** I always do love these little thought sections you give on the characters. Helps me know what stuck vs. what didn't and how the characters are currently being seen.

To first answer your questions:

1.) Junior is definitely going to be facing more and more throughout these chapters and this story what the Red brings out in him. As for how much control Junior gains over the Red, it really depends on what type of evil it is that it's bringing out in him. Something that wants to dominate or something that just wants to rampage and destroy?

2.) I will definitely be having Daniela and Minnie interacting later in the story, so I don't want to spoil to much so soon. For now I'll just say that Minnie definitely had the same feelings for Junior that she did in the actual comic and cares for her little sister very much.

3.) Mimi and Chi having twins is an idea I'm considering. In the end it will likely come down to which names I like the best and how the child or children fit with what will happen in the story later when Mimi and Chi come back into it. I probably will not have the kid named Ashi, though that's because someday I would like to do a story where Chi and the real Ashi meet.

Now for your responses to the QTPs:

1.) The only hint I'll give for now about the Lilith name is that it WAS in an actual _Danny Phantom_ episode, but it was such a minor thing at the time that I doubt anyone other than me remembers it.

2.) Let's just say I'll give Danny more than a chest wound to worry about.

3.) Minnie will definitely be stronger/more skilled than she was as a kid.

4.) Definitely deep in a dream, but that in itself is not without its dangers.

5.) Boogie probably won't stick his neck out to save Junior unless the God of Magic specifically orders him, and of course than does raise the big question of whether they'll have to.

 **Yinyang2017:** I do really like the idea of Mimi and Chi naming their child in honor of Mimi's mother, so I'm definitely adding Bloom to the list of possible names.

 **Guest:** I've always felt like there are different levels and layers of evil. Best difference I could say between the two is that classic morality chart, with Mandy as lawful evil and Cartman as chaotic evil. Mandy will kill or hurt anyone she needs to (or feels like) to get what she wants, which is usually ultimate power or control, which her ego feels she deserves. Mandy hates everyone, but doesn't see select groups as superior or inferior. She's at the top, everyone else is below her. Cartman doesn't really have a reason for a lot of the hate or discrimination he spreads around, and while his brattiness, pettiness, and blatant discrimination might make him seem more hateful or evil in general, it also makes him too ineffective to every be the same level of threat to everyone as Mandy is.

 **Major144:** The Vegeta comparison is very apt, and as the next few chapters may show, Dan and Junior's fight will have a small thing in common with Goku and Vegeta's fight during the Buu saga.

 **AMTT94:** All great names and I will be adding them to the list of possibilities for the child. Though I have not confirmed that Chi and Mimi will be having a boy, just that Daniela's subconscious thinks they might and thus why the child in her dream was a boy.

Bill Cipher may pop up again in another one of my stories but not likely this one. Having him appear now after so little set-up I think would be too out of left field. Plus most of the villains in this story are ones who already hate Grim and Mandy, so Bill doesn't match that well with the rest of them. I could see him maybe appearing in a sequel to this story if I ever decide to do one, after everything is all wrapped up.

 **Lord Razer:** Honestly, whenever I've thought about Manny falling for anyone in his family, it's usually Minnie who comes to mind. Given how instantly he fell for Mimi after seeing her, if Minnie grew up to resemble Mandy in figure and beauty, Manny might find herself staring at her for a few seconds too long every time she comes to visit the castle.

 **nightmaster000:** 1.) Possibly.

2.) Quite a while, to be honest. Possibly the rest of his life. Hee…I make joke.

3.) As you'll see with Daniela's dream, he does have a few stalker-ish tendencies.

4.) Probably the latter.

5.) Though you have to wonder how much Dan would hate that, given what he's mad at Junior over in the first place.

 **neverendingZero:** So this is a big tease (and possible spoiler) on my part, but Dexter has actually already shown up in the story. It was such a minor part that won't come into play until much later, but he's there and I'm not expecting anyone to spot him yet. Before anyone asks, no, Dexter is not Drax.

 **Guest:** I know the Injustice story pretty well, though I don't have the systems needed to play either of the games. I think someone in the Oneshot reviews asked if I would ever do Injustie endings for characters like Junior and Mandy and I'm not against the idea. Sounds like it could be pretty fun.

 **TheOrignalDARSH:** Well, don't feel too sorry for Dan yet. As I like to think the Reapers would say, "You reap what you sow."

 **Guest:** Not yet, sadly. I've been busy.

* * *

 **CHAPTER START**

Appatu's form wiggled like a speedy little tadpole across the endless green void of the Ghost Zone sky, never feeling like he was going fast enough.

"Must get away! Must get away!" He sputtered to himself in panicked rambles. The moment Pariah's Keep burst open the Observant had fled. He hadn't bothered to see what had caused the explosion, but even from this distance he could feel the two godly powers waging their war against each other and neither of them was of the Ghost King whom had sworn to protect him. Whatever happened to Danny, Appatu knew there was nothing he could do to change it and had to focus solely on hiding himself somewhere new. There was nowhere in the Ghost Zone safer than under the king's watch, but Appatu knew of at least a few dark corners in the realm that he could try. "Must get away! Must get away! Must get a-GAK!"

The ghost's mad ramblings were brought to a quick halt, as Appatu felt the presence of a palm gripping the back of his head, the strong fingers against its sides stopping him in his tracks.

"Now, now, Appy. What's your hurry? The show's just started."

The ghost nearly wet himself as his single pupil shrank. Appatu instantly recognized the amused voice coming from behind him. How could he not? He'd spent every day of the last several years living in fear of hearing it again.

"Noooo…" Appatu moaned, his body so scared it couldn't even tremble, let alone put up a fight.

The ghost heard the man chuckle. "I know you Observants can move your eyeball to see out of any part of your body. So the fact that you're keeping yours locked forward must mean you really don't want to see me before you have to." The God of Magic commented in amusement, still holding the stiff Appatu by the head out before him. "Well, that's fine. Because another thing I know about Observants is that you can remember everything you've ever seen…unless of course you've magically erased it from your memories, and we'll get more to _that_ part later…"

Appatu gave a noticeable whimper.

"So lucky little you can act as my own personal video camera for the evening." The God of Magic continued, turning to point Appatu's eye in the direction of a considerable amount of noise. "I'm actually dividing my attention right now, between here and a little brewhaha I sent my baby momma's way. Technically the latter is more important but I'd still rather not miss more of this than I have to. After all, what kind of a father would I be if I didn't show up to watch my son's big game?" He asked with a smirk as he and his prisoner watched the lights in the distance, one leaving a trail of bright green and the other of blazing orange. Both repeatedly colliding and shaking the world around them in their impacts.

* * *

Junior's bare bone fist struck against Dan's face, and given the ghost's continuously manic smile, he either didn't even feel it or he simply didn't care, powering through to deliver his own blows to Junior's flaming form. The punch he landed again Junior's chest was hard enough to send a shockwave rippling out and cause Junior to go flying down through the sky, though not before a long string of chains came out from under the Reaper's sleeve, wrapping around Dan's torso to drag him down with.

The floating island they landed on was familiar only to Dan, whom got a chuckle out of seeing what had become of it over the years as his flexing muscles snapped the chains that held him. The same thick jungle that Skulker had years ago stalked him and his old frenemy (later definitely enemy in his old timeline) Valerie Gray was now practically choked by the black metallic tendrils that ran amok over the floating islands surface. The former ambient noises of captured and lured ghost birds and insects replaced by the constant low buzz of electronics. All no doubt done in a symbolic gesture to Skulker and Technus's own literal fusion. It gave Dan an odd sense of pride knowing that this island's masters were never coming back here again, thanks to him.

Not that there'd be much for them to come back to, Dan remarked to himself. Brushing aside the barrage of hellfire Junior sent his way as soon as they landed, Dan's fist smashed into the ground where the burning Reaper had stood before dodging backwards out of the way, sending debris flying up everywhere from the sizable crater he'd made. Their respective trails of light and the violent upshooting dust clouds Dan's rapid blows created marked the two's zig-zag pattern across Skulktech's island, as Junior continued his leaps back, staying just out of Dan's immediate reach and allowing the cybernetic forest floor to take the brunt of punishment instead. Trees fell to detach cables and expose wires. Polluted jungle water flooded out from the island's center over its sides. And with a final burst of speed, Dan caught up with his opponent, grabbing onto him and using their momentum to crash them through the skull-shaped mountain that was once Skulker's true lair.

Gleefully forcing Junior's face against the rocky surface, Dan flew the both of them in a cockscrew pattern across the island's entire mass, tearing it apart in seconds in a show of green and orange light.

"You know, I have to admit something to you, Junior," Dan remarked through his smile's strained, clenched teeth as the shattered island's remains flew past them. "When I decided to make my play for the king's crown and ring, I was a little worried I wouldn't get any more challenges in my life. But we're turning out to be quite a bit more evenly matched than I'd expected."

" **Is that right?"** Junior questioned as he eroded skull quickly put itself back together, the flames covering his skeleton face shifting like he was raising an amused eyebrow.

Dan only saw the flash of a smirk across Junior's healed face before the Reaper's head dove forward, sinking his teeth into the ghost's shoulder. Dan's eyes went wide and his nostrils flared as he snarled from the intense pain, feeling the skeleton's jaws instantly crush the scapula and clavicle of the area, before then start burning away at the surrounding flesh. With an immediate kick of his foot, Dan struck Junior had in the chest and forced him off, though not without a noticeable loss to himself, as the sickening rip that followed indicated.

Dan's remaining hand gripped the newly gaping void on his right side, feeling the sting of contact as his fingers tried to keep the glowing lime-green blood in. Across from him, Junior just smiled, dangling the ghost's arm down from his mouth like a rabbit caught by a fox. Throwing his head back, Junior's maw opened up wide like a snake's, letting the severed appendage slide down his gullet and using his bottom jaw and teeth to help move it along until Dan's fingers, one of them baring the black and green ring of the king, disappeared behind a satisfied burp.

Junior wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. **"Last I checked, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and other little specters weren't part of YOUR daily diet."** He chuckled, staring intently at Dan's grimacing expression as the drip-drops of blood could be hurt hitting the stone beneath their feet.

But then, through the pain, Dan smiled back. And before he could question why, Junior got his answer, feeling the sudden rumbling in his stomach as a faint green glow started to emanate from behind his jacket. The second he looked down Junior was nearly shot back from the force, as the Ring of Rage came bursting out of his body, flying under its own power to return to Dan.

Zig-zagging in completely straight lines in order to place itself in position, Dan removed his hand from his open stump as the ring floated before his body. Like they were building-blocks of pure light, a hand rapidly constructed around the ring, starting with a single finger through its hole before outstretching into an arm that connected back with Dan's reforming shoulder. Clenching his new fist proudly, the encompassing light around the limb broke, revealing the ghost's regenerated arm, good as new. Even growing back the costume and glove around it.

"Now, don't tell me you were hoping things would end between us that easily?" Dan asked the glaring Reaper mockingly, laughing as he flexed his fingers, unable to even tell the difference between these and his old ones. "Here's another fun fact for ya. The Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage? When worn together, they're connected on a _dimensional_ level. That little pocket dimension you call a stomach? Ain't gonna cut it." Dan shook his head playfully. "So, unless you've got a Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep shoved up your butt you can pull out to cut me off from reality completely, the only way you're keeping this ring off of my cold dead hand is if you beat the will to summon it back right out of me."

Dan smiled the entire time he said that. And to Junior's fading reluctance, he found himself smiling back.

" **I can do that."**

* * *

They were dead. Danny knew they had to be dead.

True, humans were like ghosts when in the Ghost Zone. Able to pass right through any solid object composed in the ectoplasmic realm. But even if the flying debris couldn't hurt them, there was no way either he or the girl could have survived the shockwave that destroyed the entire castle, not at such a close range. And even if that hadn't killed them immediately, humans still can't fly, even in this realm, and below Pariah's Keep was simply a near infinite green void.

They were dead. There was no way they couldn't be dead.

And yet, as Danny opened his eyes to view the still, endless green sky and the rough rocky ground his cheek was pressed against, he saw that they were indeed somehow still alive.

"Sir Michael…?" Danny asked with a low, sore moan, seeing the light of purple flames from the ghost's cape as he turned his head.

The Fright Knight nodded, gently placing Daniela's still sleeping form down next to Danny on the small floating mound of rock that served as their temporary sanctuary. "My liege, I am sorry I could not come to your aid sooner. That's twice now I've made the same failing." The knight apologized, his lowered head and demeanor seeming genuinely remorseful.

"You still…came when you did…" Danny told him, barely paying attention as he took in a sharp breath, his hand covered in his own dark red blood as it clutched at the hole in his chest. "Besides…I'm not really your…liege…anymore…" He added feverishly as the Fright Knight helped him sit up, it frankly being a miracle he could talk at all in his condition.

"Perhaps not," The ghost remarked, placing his own hands against Danny's chest to help keep pressure on the wound and prevent him from bleeding out completely (at least from the front, the knight noted, given how deep Dan's blast had gone, straight through his back). "But I doubt I shall be receiving orders from the new king any time soon." He said, cocking his head towards the direction where another far-off boom was heard, it being unknown which of the two monsters landed blow upon the other. "And until then, my previous orders still stand, to protect that girl. You just happened to be next to her when I came to her rescue."

Danny was almost tempted to laugh if it didn't hurt so much and if it didn't feel like fire every time he took a breath. With some effort, he looked over at Daniela's body, her sleeping expression somehow still peaceful despite the bruised and bloody mess her body was, particularly her arms due to Dan's overuse. "Dan… Dan mentioned the Boogieman…working with Tim…" He coughed as he tried to force the words out, causing the worried Fright Knight to try and get him to stop and lie back to rest. "That's how…how you both were taken out. And if you're up…then that means he's still affecting her…"

"Sire, no." The Fright Knight ordered Danny, knowing where he was going with this.

Danny shook his head. "I need…to get in there…and force him out." He declared weakly, though still with enough strength to determinedly clench his fist and spark forth the white halo of light around his body. Splitting to go across his top and bottom, the enveloping circle returned Danny back into his black and white clad ghost form.

Feeling the surge of strength from the transformation, Danny stood up to his feet.

Though he fell to his knee a second later, the stinging pain in his chest returning as he instinctually clutched it. Taking his hand away from the spot, Danny could see in disappointment the now mixture of red blood and green ooze staining his glove. "Shit." He swore, pushing his hand against his wound and trying to fight his way through his misery again.

"My liege, stop!" The Fright Knight stood, trying desperately to get Danny to stop moving around. "Your halfa nature allowed you to survive an attack that should be fatal, but you are still considerably weakened! Let me go in your place. I shall save the girl's mind from-"

"No." Danny stated with a pant, holding out his free hand to interrupt the ghost, the Fright Knight complying out of habit. "I'm no good in a fight like this. My ghost form can give me a little more strength to power through this hole in my chest, but without the crown and the ring it can't fully heal the damage. I'm still good as dead."

"Sire, you-!"

"Listen to me!" Danny ordered again, holding his hand against the Fright Knight's shoulder to keep himself from falling over. "Inside the dream world, time is slower and this injury won't get in the way much of saving Daniela. I can actually be useful there instead of just dead weight. Meanwhile, you can get her physical body out of here, as far away as you can go. If any of us get caught in Dan and Junior's crossfire again, we won't survive." With effort, Danny turned his head up to look into the Fright Knight's eye. "Please, Sir Michael, will you do this for me? As the final order from your former king?"

Barely a few seconds passed before the ghost's answer. Like there was another other choice he'd have made. The knight was only loyal to those whom had true reasons to be loyal to.

"I shall not fail you again." The Fright Knight declared, fist to his chest.

Danny nodded his head in deep thanks, letting go of the knight's shoulder and turning his attention back to Daniela. Turning his body intangible, Danny could scarcely remember the last time he'd attempted something like this. He was sure it was when he and Timmy battled against Bill Cipher's brood but at the moment, all he could think of was fighting Nocturne when he was fourteen, how he brought Sam into the final dream battle with him and how he very much wished he could bring someone along with again, just to not go alone.

Taking a breath of courage, Danny dove into Daniela's human body.

* * *

"Relax. Go at your own pace." Junior whispered tenderly into her ear before planting more kisses along her neck. "I'm not going anywhere."

Daniela tried to nod, though found it hard to focus on moving any part of her body outside of her legs and arms, both of which were clutching desperately against Junior's back and torso, holding him close as his body pressed hers against the sheets of the bed. She couldn't even open her eyes, it felt so good. The way her insides spread open as he penetrated her for the first time. The roughness of it. It stung, but not as bad as she'd always feared the loss of her virginity might be, and Junior was quick to sooth her discomfort, having waited until he was sure she was ready before he moved again.

"I love you." Daniela moaned almost tearfully, nose buried in Junior's neck, breathing in his scent as he withdrew and entered her body again and again. "I love you. I've loved you…! For so long…! And to finally hold you like this… To be held by you like this…!"

"I love you too." Junior told her, Daniela feeling his smile as he moved his head so that he may kiss her lips, doing so deeply as his thrusts.

Daniela could feel it welling up inside her and preparing to burst. She wanted the moment to last forever but she was still inexperienced, and with the lover she'd always dreamed of going to bed with, her resolve could hardly be expected to hold out for long. Just seconds more and the flood of her body's erupting pleasure would be too great to be contained.

Those seconds would never come to pass, as the romance found itself interrupted by Danny materializing from nowhere in the middle of the bedroom, landing on his feet beside the foot of the two's bed.

Feeling his chest, Danny gave something of a relieved smile as he saw the wound was not there. "Well, at least my mental self is ready to go." He remarked, his back momentarily to the bed. "Alright, Daniela, you have to wake up. This isn't real, you're in a dream wo-…"

Danny's words stopped instantly as he turned around and found the bare-naked Daniela and dream Junior staring back at him, the girl in particular being quite red-faced in shock at his sudden appearance.

Clamping his eyes shut, Danny slowly turned back to face away from the sight. "Okay, I did not need to see that." He remarked bluntly to himself, only acting so calm in that he was trying to purge the regretful viewing from memory.

"Down in front." Another voice in the room called before an empty carton of zombie milk bounced off Danny's head. Suddenly aware of the third presence in the room, both Danny and Daniela turned their heads to spot the Boogieman, sitting in an armchair directly facing the bed, head resting against his hand in a show of his excessive boredom. "Oh, who am I kidding? This show was dead on arrival. Seriously, the girl needs to watch more porn."

Daniela blinked heavily, the sudden appearances of both men sending her mind for a loop, unable to process what was going on. But then in a flood of information, everything came back to her. How it'd only been mere hours, not years, since she and her brother fought against Danny Phantom, the Ghost King, and that her last true memory before going to sleep was sitting in that infirmary room with the Fright Knight.

With Daniela's mind forced into the recognition that he wasn't real, the dream Junior vanished between the blinks of her eyes, like he'd never been there to begin with. Looking down at her body, Daniela's form was that of a teenager again and not an adult (and thankfully with her clothing returned). Hand to her pounding head as she tried to sort through her returned reality, tearing up slightly with the knowledge that her perfect day had never happened, Daniela's mind used her rage to help her cope and she immediately blasted at the Boogieman with a stream of hot ectoplasmic energy. The attack went through his chest and caused his body to ripple like water from the point of impact, before slowly stilling and returning to normal, showing no harm done.

"Rude." Boogie remarked, casually brushing off the spot on his robe, clearly having not even felt the blast.

"You-! You were watching me have sex!" Daniela screamed in anger and violation as she leapt out of the bed, going into her ghost form.

"I'm a demon!" Boogie exclaimed, throwing up his arms to specify on its obviousness. "What do you expect?!"

Daniela nearly lunged at Boogie but Danny threw his arm before her to hold her back. "Forget him. We need to focus on waking you up and getting out of here."

Daniela bared her teeth slightly as she looked back and forth between the other ghost and Boogie's sneering face. To her, Danny couldn't understand. She needed to keep being angry, she needed to hurt the Boogieman. Because otherwise, without her anger to cloud her, her mind would be forced to acknowledge further everything she'd just lost.

Clenching her fists as her trembling body was barely able to hold itself back, Daniela bitterly asked Danny "How am I supposed to awaken?"

Thankful that the girl was at least making the attempt to be reasonable, Danny removed his arm from her person. "Well, normally just the knowledge that you're dreaming is enough to bring people back out. Since that clearly hasn't worked yet, I'd say all we need is a good sudden shock to wake you up." He explained, citing his past experiences.

"Oh? You mean like this?" Boogie asked with a casual wave of his hand before the ceiling above the two ghosts transformed from bricks to clouds, striking them both with dual bolts of lightning. Danny and Daniela's screams of agony lasted long as the endless currents roasted their bodies from the inside. And yet, almost as soon as it came, the lightning ended, leaving the two in great smoking pain, yet somehow still alive and visibly uninjured. Boogie then placed his fingers to his chin in faux pondering. "Or mean you mean more like a sudden surprise?"

From below Danny and Daniela's keeling bodies, the floor disappeared completely, causing the two to fall into the infinite black pit while every piece of furniture in the room stayed floating where it was.

Though the suddenness of it had taken them by surprise and allowed their fall to continue for quite a ways, the ghosts were able to easily recover themselves, halting their momentum by their own power and start flying back up.

…Only for their hands and feet to then become entirely encased in large iron weights, each with the label of "10 tons" stamped proudly on the sides.

"Ah, ah, ah. No cheating." Boogie's voice taunted them from the darkness.

Again they fell, far faster than before and unable to remove their shackles even by phasing. For miles upon miles they went down until finally a red square became larger and larger upon their approach.

Seconds later and the two slammed down onto the floor of the bedroom they'd just been in.

"Oh, you're back." Boogie commented casually, still sitting in the same armchair but now smoking a Corn Cob Pipe (though with bubbles coming out in place of actual smoke). "Did you have a nice fall? Ba dum tss."

Throwing his head up from the floor, Danny attacked Boogie with a howl of his Ghostly Wail. The waves of green energy cascaded over the blue demon, but from the air popped out two cork earplugs that jammed themselves into Boogie's pointed ears and no harm was done, as his shrug indicated.

Boogie then pulled a megaphone out of his sleeve, screaming into it "YELLINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" The sonic force of which easily beat back the wail's power and sent Danny and Daniela hurtling through the bedroom wall.

"I… I don't get this…" Daniela said, groaning as she picked herself back up, unable to really gage her surroundings. "From what mother and father showed us of their records, the Boogieman can manipulate dreams but nothing to this level. He's never been this powerful."

 _"Still loves to hear himself talk, I see."_ Daniela suddenly heard her mother's voice coming from behind her. Turning around and the teen suddenly found herself back inside the infirmary of Castle Grimskull, sitting on one of the many beds with Manny right beside her, both with their eyes locked onto their parents as Grim and Mandy watched the Boogieman's hologram play out its message.

 _"I've gained quite a few friends during the last two decades and as you may or may not suspect, I've been building an army to match and perhaps even surpass your own."_ The hologram grinned confidently. _"If you think the years have made he forget our history you'd almost be right. If you thought I hated you before, just imagine how deeply that pit I my stomach has increased after I recovered from what YOU did to me all those years ago back in Horror's Lair!"_

Daniela then felt someone quite forcefully grab her arm.

"Daniela, don't let your mind wander!" Danny told her with great warning as he pulled all her attention towards him. The infirmary that'd seemed so real a second ago now became washed-out and muddy, like she was seeing it through a thick fog. "The dream world takes shape around your stray thoughts, both conscious and subconscious. If you let your mind wander too much you can become trapped in an illusion again, where the Boogieman would have us even more in his power."

"Nice advice." The Boogieman's voice sounded through the fog, though it what direction the two ghosts could not tell. "But a tad hypocritical coming for you, isn't it, ghost boy?"

At first, Daniela was unsure what the Boogieman was getting at. But a single glace back over to the former Ghost King showed quite the substantial difference. Gone was the tall, stoic figure whom had easily beaten back Daniela and her brother before, replaced by a teenager whom perhaps looked even younger than she was. The cape was gone, as was any armor that could have protected the black and white jumpsuit, but the same snow-colored hair and bright green eyes told Daniela that this was still undoubtedly Danny Phantom.

Who he was fighting, however, she did not recognize.

" _So what's the big deal about people's dreams?"_ The younger Danny asked his ghostly opponent as they faced each other down across what appeared to be some kind of lab.

The unknown ghost just smirked at him, straightening up his starry night-sky body before he answered. _"Asked the ghost boy who dreams of the goth girl."_ Nocturn remarked to him mockingly.

" _Oh…man…that was private."_ Danny grunted, a mix of embarrassment and quiet anger at his inner thoughts being peeked in on.

" _Dreams are the gateway to the subconscious!"_ The ghost of sleep declared before slicing the air with his hand, sending a blade of energy forward to cut down his enemy.

Danny raised his arms up quickly, likely about to blast the attack back to defend himself. But then he suddenly stopped, as if some realization had just struck him. Lowering his arms back down, the energy slice passed harmlessly through him and almost instantly Danny reverted back to his true adult form.

"Dammit." He chastised himself for falling into the trap so easily himself.

"Trying to think back to when you've defeated dream masters before, eh?" The Boogieman asked in amusement, still not showing his face. "Not a terrible plan, though I should warn you that I'm far more powerful in here than any nightmare maker you and my master have fought before."

Daniela looked hopefully to Danny for instruction. "What are we going to do?"

"Relax. We've still got the advantage." Danny assured her.

"How so?"

"Because there's two of us." He explained, though still keeping a watchful eye for whatever Boogie would try to send at them next. "You and I share very few of the same memories, meaning that if one of us starts seeing stuff they don't recognize they'll be able to snap the other out of it. We have a way to resist his illusions."

"Ooh, well done, Mr. Fenton. Well done." Boogie chuckled heartily at the ghost's plan. "It's personally funny to me though that you're bothering yourself so much to comfort the girl when I don't have any reason to care about her anymore." The dream demon remarked, though with a tone that did little to ease the cautiously watchful Daniela. "I only had to keep her mind occupied so that Dan could get the crown and the ring off of you. And since you're here now, stripped of your royal mentionables, I can only assume it all went off without a hitch."

"Wait, my father is working with you?" Daniela said with worry, though Danny pushed on to more immediate concerns.

"So your job's done then. Why do I get the feeling you're still not going to let us go?" Danny asked off into the foggy void around them.

"Well, I suppose normally I'd have no problem letting the girl go. Of all of Mandy's children, I've got to least attachment to her." Boogie replied back, again giving no true direction for where he voice was coming from. "You however, Mr. Fenton, I'm quite curious about."

"L'Oréal. Because I'm worth it." Danny remarked bluntly. "Given what I've seen of you, I'm sure it's my famous hair care secrets you're after."

"Ahh, there's the famous quipping. But I am being serious. My master hardly ever talks about his past, even the parts that came after what the Observants did to him. And you didn't become the Ghost King until around when the two of you parted ways. So I've always wondered…what it was about you that could garner the attention of the God of Magic himself?"

"My sunny personality." Danny said dryly, clearly not in the mood to make things easy for the demon.

"Well now you're not even trying." Boogie said with a playful sigh before the ground beneath Danny and Daniela's feet gave a quake.

Like mountains around them arose five towering blue pillars. Only when the pillars started to unnaturally curl and close in the space around them did the two realize they were fingers. Looking far up past the fog of dreams, the ghosts held in the Boogieman's island-spanning palm saw his eclipsing head looking back down upon them.

"Let's have a heart-to-heart." He said to them before tossing the two specks in his hand into his toothy, giggling maw.

* * *

Dan seemed barely fazed, smiling contently the entire time as he dodged each of Junior's blows with the ease of a leaf in the wind. "You know what I love the most about wearing these things?" The ghost commented unprovoked, Junior's fist passing him by. "It ain't just my strength that's been boosted, but all my other lovable stats too."

A blaze of fire shot from Junior's open mouth and Dan suddenly vanished behind a newly-spawned portal, reappearing behind the Reaper and giving him a swift chop between the neck and shoulder, smacking Junior back down onto the floating debris of the former island below.

"My sense of all the Ghost Zone's cracks between dimensions has expanded so much that not only do I have more options of where I can go, but _when_ I want is also on the table." Dan bragged down to Junior as the burning skeleton picked himself up from the ground, noticeably irritated at the surprise hit. "Let me show you." Dan added with mirth as he dove forward at his opponent to attack.

Junior got another good blow in at Dan's face, though the ghost's own counter-hit had a much more noticeable result, knocking Junior into a new portal behind him.

Where the Reaper was spat out was quite clearly not the Ghost Zone. The sky was blue with a few scattered small clouds and Junior's surroundings were lush with far too much natural plant life and foliage than what could ever survive for long in the ectoplasmic realm's harsh environment. Not that this location was perfect either, as even through the flames of his body Junior could still feel the sticky heat and ungodly thickness of the air.

Junior felt the rumble through the ground as something big stomped within the shade of the surrounding trees to approach him, alerted to the presence of some intruder within its territory.

The creature's enormous head and long rows of sharp teeth were the first to emerge out from behind the leaves, as the massive lizard long extinct in the present time, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, made its presence known with a deafening roar that shook its jowls.

The beast too ignorant to be wary of Junior's flaming body, it charged teeth-first at the apathetic Reaper, whom simply held out his hand and prepared to kill the lizard quickly.

But, to both Junior's surprise and the T-Rex's, the dinosaur was suddenly heaved off the ground by the tail, revealing Dan's floating form at its tip and hoisting the beast above his head.

"SLAP-JACK!" Dan laughed as he threw the dinosaur downward like a mallet, striking Junior dead-on as he was too dumbfounded by the insanity of the attack to move.

After five or six more strokes of Dan simply clubbing Junior against the ground with the body of the prehistoric beast, Junior's senses finally returned enough for him to grab hold of the T-Rex's head on another downward swing, preventing Dan from pulling it back up. Yanking the lizard from Dan's grip, Junior spun himself to gain momentum before angrily chucking the T-Rex back at Dan, whom simply phased through it and let the beast come crashing back down onto the Earth behind him.

"Confession time," Dan remarked as the T-Rex whined like a beaten dog against the trees, barely able to pick itself back up. "I have always wanted to beat on someone with a dinosaur." Smirking even further upon seeing Junior's glare, Dan went on. "Aw, don't pout. Come on, what do ya say we got forward another million years or so? I'm sure there'll be a meteor or something I can hit you with next."

Though his glare persisted, a devious smile started to spread across the Junior's face, a clear plan of some kind coming to his mind as he held out his arm to his side. Before his outstretched palm, with a twirl of fire, Junior's fingers wrapped around the staff of his new weapon; a scythe with a gleaming black blade, conjured up by a combination of his hidden Nergaling flesh and the Ghost Rider's powers.

Pulling his weapon back in preparation to strike, Junior wasn't surprised to see Dan staying still where he was, the cocky ghost too wrapped up in excited anticipation for what his opponent was going to do now that he was getting serious.

The sudden glint of light was the only sign that Junior had attacked, his scythe's swing almost too fast to be seen. Dan threw up his forearms to block whatever Junior was sending his way, only to feel nothing but the breeze even after he waited.

"Did…did you miss?" Dan asked down to Junior, a bit confused what just happened.

Junior stood simply with his scythe at his side, wordlessly shaking his head before pointing at Dan's chest.

Looking down his torso, Dan saw what Junior had done, or more so what he had created. A small tear in his costume, barely bigger than the tip of his finger and just barely big enough to see the small green swirls of a vortex within it.

"What in the f-?" Dan mumbled before being quite abruptly cut off. The bones in his abdomen instantly being crushed to powder and further condensed beyond belief as the ghost's chest suddenly started to be sucked inwards through the minuscule portal; his arms, legs, and head soon following as everything that was Dan vanished in an instant like water through a pinhole.

It was in the ectoplasmic void of the Ghost Zone that Dan came spitting back out, quite literally in fact, as there was nothing in the ensuing black and green oozing spew that could even be remotely recognized as the phantom.

Still, the crown and the ring put in their work, pulling Dan back together around them as they themselves reformed and regenerating him completely mere seconds later.

"-UCK! FUCK!" Dan gasped in deeply once his mouth was back, holding his head as he needed a moment to regain his bearings. "…Alright…I'll confess…I wasn't expecting that…" He breathed, admittedly impressed. "That was a good shot. But you're not going to take me by surprise aga-!"

Taking him quite by surprise again, Junior suddenly appeared from above, grabbing Dan by the back of the head and throwing him with all his might down at more of the islands below them. Dan's crash send debris flying up everywhere from the crater he made and he was given no time to relax, with Junior diving right at him and his scythe pulled back for a clear strike.

Throwing his hands forward as Junior's feet slammed into his stomach, Dan caught the scythe's blade between his palm, stopping it before its tip would have gone through his face. His battle instincts informing him of his obvious next move, Dan wasted no time opening up his mouth and blasting Junior with his Ghostly Wail, the point-blank attack ripping away layers of fire and bone as it blew the skeleton apart.

But it didn't take long for those bones to start coming back together, the pieces flying at each other like magnets as Dan simply blinked and already Junior's upper half was reformed just a few feet before him. Getting back to his feet and thrusting his body forward, the punch that Dan threw never made contact, as Junior swung his scythe to open up a new portal, big enough for the ghost's entire body to fit through this time. His momentum carrying him too much to stop himself, Dan found himself nearly blinded by the bright headlights hitting his eyes on the other side of the portal.

The car Dan had suddenly appeared before swerved heavily to avoid him, unknowingly a good choice on the driver's part as Dan would not have hesitated to smack the vehicle across the road once it'd gotten close enough. All the angry honking around him as Dan's eyes readjusted to the night sky above made it pretty obvious to the ghost he'd just popped out in the middle of a freeway. Though once he could see again he was surprised to see it was a freeway much more like what he'd have seen back in his original time. The sleek cars that passed him by and flipped him off were all hovering a foot or two off the ground, not a tire to be seen, and all the buildings of the cityscape around him were far too pristine and metallically sleek to have been made using modern construction methods.

"Neo Gotham?" Dan read off a nearby advertisement sign, ignoring the angry, blaring horn of the truck that'd come to a stop before him, the vehicle too big to make the sudden turn to go around the ghost. "Junior, you cheeky dick-waffle. You copied my move." He remarked with a snort, not even mad about this unexpected turn of events.

The truck driver finally rolled down his window and stuck his head out. "Hey, asshole! You got a death wish, make it come true on your own damn time! Get off the road!"

Smirking to himself, as it'd been a very long time since he'd gotten to enjoy anyone ignorant enough to talk to him like that, Dan finally acknowledged the truck's presence, his finger glowing green as he turned to it.

"Tell you what. Let's compromise." Dan sassed the driver. "I won't leave, but I'll make the road come out from under me."

Dan pointed his finger forward but the blast never came. The ghost just as surprised as the driver, a large hooked harpoon burrowed its way through the truck from behind, just barely missing the man as it smashed through the glass before pulling back. The truck went flying upwards, its way being led by the long, winding length of chain connected to the harpoon.

It wasn't just the truck. Every car unfortunate enough to be in range met the same speared fate; twenty at least hanging in the air from a single point like the tails of a demonic peacock. So, of course, who else to find at the center of it all but Junior, the flames of his body rippling up the chains and instantly igniting each one of the cars. The Reaper was so far gone he didn't hear the screams of the passengers quickly silenced inside the metal fireballs he'd created.

" **Slap this, Jack."** Junior stated simply, his many tails flying forward at Dan.

The attack finally snapped the stunned Dan back to his senses and he leapt back to avoid the first car that came crashing down. He wasn't going to bother with phasing through them. With the hellfire that coated each one of the wreckage balls, Dan doubted he'd even be able to. Besides, this way was much more fun, the ghost noted to himself as the back of his hand batted another of the tail ends away from him and sending it crashing into a building.

Junior was relentless in his strikes, each one of his tails ripping through the street where it struck like tissue paper; if not striking Dan dead-on then only just barely missing him. It was insane how resilient the ghost was being, fighting against the Rider's power that would have been an instant end for any other of his kind. And even more insane, how well Dan was able to fight back. Not only able to take his hits or push back against them, but also able to fight his way forward. Only his first move had been a leap back. Now he was working to close the distance between them, where Junior's tails would be less effective. Dan might seem like just a brick to everyone else, but Junior knew well how honed his rival's battle instincts were.

Switching up his own strategy, Junior pulled back all his tails, letting the masses hover for a minute before he launched himself forward at Dan, using a sudden, powerful burst of fire from his hands to spin his body in mid-air. Following suit, the several tails spun with the Reaper, moving like molten orange helicopter blades, absolutely shredding the freeway as they moved their way towards Dan.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to stop his momentum in time before the chains would mince him, Dan instead threw his hand forward to unleash an eruption of ecto-energy, halting his path and consuming his opponent in the same wide, green beam.

The melted mounds of metal that were once cars fell in heaps to the ground, the destroyed chains separating them from the main body. But from inside the energy blast did Junior come bursting out, still fully determined to attack the ghost.

Six chains total shot out of Junior, three coming from under each sleeve, but not at Dan.

No, Junior shot the chains out at the building behind himself, each point embedding deeply into the tower's structure. The blazing Reaper throwing both arms forward with a determined roar, Dan could not tell whether Junior had ripped the entire forty stories from the ground or just a sizable chunk of the front wall facing them. Regardless, it was big and Junior was bringing it down on top of them both.

The resulting quake was felt across the city, with the continuously screeching metal almost deafening as the building and freeway collapsed completely from the impact.

On a nearby building, a man dressed in all black, save for the strikingly red bat-insignia across his chest, sat perched at its top like the old, stone gargoyles the city used to have, only protected from the rising dust of the collapse thanks to the seal across the mouth of his pointy-eared mask.

"Wayne…we might want to call in the League to help with this." Batman said through the comm-link in his ear, able to hear the low rumble of clashing, inhuman fists from beneath the rubble, even from this high up.

"For once, I agree." The much older man on the other end of the line remarked gruffly.

Sit watching from above in case these two monsters made they break back up to the surface, Batman noticed the odd glow of green that suddenly emanated from between the cracks in all the debris. When the glow ended, the sound of fists had also noticeable stopped and the rubble suddenly caved in.

* * *

Dan and Junior popped back into the Ghost Zone, their blows against each other only slightly impeded by the chunks of skyscraper the portal spat out with them.

"Alright, so we can send each other back and forth through random points in time." Dan chuckled as he and Junior exchanged fists to the face. "Now let's see who can keep up."

* * *

… **Ancient Egypt, roughly 35 BC…**

"Ah, good. Construction is almost finished." Remarked High Priest Hotep RA as he overlooked from the palace the continuous steady progress the slaves made on the sphinx. "I knew having the face built in the pharaoh's own image would be enough to distract him from my true reasons for recommending our empire build its own sphinx. Little does King Duulaman realize that once it's finished, it'll be a simple matter for me to steal the Scarab Scepter and use its magics to bring the sphinx to life. With it under my command, I shall be the ruler of this land! The one true ruler of this land! The eternal pharaoh! King Hotep RA-!"

The priest's unaware monologuing found itself quite interrupted, as what appeared to be a ball of fire smashed through the sphinx's body, toppling it before the fireball crashed into the palace. Hotep RA instantly fell to the floor in terror at what had landed in his room; a charred, burning skeleton with the sharp, hungry teeth of a demon.

Thankfully, Junior didn't even seem to notice the priest's presence where he landed.

Unthankfully, what Junior was paying attention to was quite the opposite of help for the priest.

Dan Phantom, floating above the palace, holding the massive stone head of the sphinx over himself.

Which he then threw at the palace.

"…Mummy, I don't want to rule Egypt anymore." Hotep RA whimpered as his lord's oncoming image overshadowed everything in the priest's final sight.

* * *

… **Land of Ooo, 1000 PGMW…**

"…I'm sorry I ate your fries. I didn't mean to hurt you." The gargantuan Hunson Abadeer told his daughter as his bulbous head looked down upon her, genuinely sincere in his guilt.

"It's okay, dad. It's…it's really okay." Marceline assured her father, though noticeably a little pink-cheeked in embarrassment of the moment.

"No, it's not okay." Hunson said back, not yet letting himself off that easy. "They weren't even very good. They were really cold." He added as a quick afterthought. "I love you, Marceline. Don't you ever doubt that."

"I love you too, dad." Marceline told him back, the words coming surprisingly easy to her despite the two's long separation.

Hunson could feel the happy tears slowly working their way out of his eyes. "Oh, Marceline, I am so-"

The Nightosphere Lord's next words never came, though it was not the surprise attack planned by Finn the human that had cut him off, but rather the burning Demon Reaper whom had suddenly lifted Hunson's towering figure up by his foot. With a downwards swing, Junior used Hunson's body to slap Dan out of the air before the ghost could reach him, proceeding to return the "favor" from earlier by clubbing the grounded Dan with Hunson's face.

* * *

… **Norway, under German occupation, 1942…**

His circular shield kept securely fastened to his back, the red and blue super soldier known the world as Captain America carefully crunched his way through the freshly fallen snow, staying hidden behind the trees of the forest as he approached his unit's scout.

"Howlett." He quietly called out to the gruff soldier under his command. The man's camo and brush-cover hid him well, only his sideburns and binoculars able to be see even from the captain's close distance. When the soldier gave him a grunt in acknowledgement that he was there, still not taking his eyes away from the binoculars, Steve persisted. "Howlett, Fury wants to know, are we ready to mount our attack on the base or what?"

Finally sitting up from his cover, Howlett spoke casually to his superior officer. "Might not be necessary anymore, bub."

"What do you mean?"

Howlett handed over the binoculars. "I mean either Hydra's got more mutinous factions in it that it has heads or someone's taking care of our problem for us."

Confused and slightly worried by the man's words, Steve looked through the instrument. Off in the distance, the Hydra base the Howling Commandos had been planning their assault on for weeks…was on fire. Soldiers were fleeing the fenced-off compound left and right as German tanks were thrown through the air like paperweights. In the center of it all were two creatures moving too fast to be seen. They were focused on fighting each other it seemed, but their continuing clash did not discriminate against anything or anyone that got in their way.

"Should we…do something?" Steve asked, quite uncertain how to feel about this latest development as the distant explosions started sending blasts of air past the two men.

"Eh, who gives a fuck? They're Nazis." Howlett said with an uncaring shrug as he pulled out and lit up a thick cigar.

* * *

… **The Milky Way, 2002…**

A spectacular sight to behold, but one almost impossible to hear. In the vacuum of space, sound does not travel. It is nothing but silence. But down on the surface of the two racing planets, the roar of the continent-spanning thrusters mute everything else. It is only on the exact opposite sides of both planets that you might hear anything.

Piloting the entire red planet from the Face of Mars (redder now thanks to the spreading hellfire of the Ghost Rider's power), Junior howls with mad laughter along with the Irken Zim and his "helper" robot Gir as they fly towards their head-on collision.

Piloting his own little grey planet from the Butt of Mercury, Dan Phantom cackles as well but does so alone, the young Dib Membrane merely screaming and clinging for dear life onto the back of the seat the ghost kicked him out of minutes prior.

The two converted planets raced towards each other, thrusters turned to their highest output as they powered through asteroid fields, as this battle of planets, whose disrupted orbits would create damage to the solar system of Earth for generations to come, quickly became a game of chicken between two insane monsters.

* * *

Junior and Dan came bursting back into the Ghost Zone, their tangled path amazingly finding them a wall to crash through and a rough marble floor to skid across for a landing instead of just continuing to fall into the realm's endless depths.

Finally getting a break from their tussle after several minutes of non-stop travel throughout the Ghost Zone and human history, the two men separated once they got to their feet, staring each other down from across the floor.

"Damn, Junior…you are one tough bastard to put down." Dan huffed, wiping away some of his own green blood from his mouth now that his broken jaw had once again reset itself. "I have the Ghost Zone itself healing me up and supplying me with extra power and you're still able to keep up."

" _No…not just keep up."_ Dan remarked to himself as Junior just wordlessly stared at him, the burning Reaper's single eye hiding a clear insanity behind its coldness as his own bones clicked back into place. _"It's not just that he has no lungs in this form, why he's not breathing as hard as me. He still hasn't hit his limit yet. Might not even be close to it."_ The very thought gave the ghost a small chuckle, a surprise even to him as Dan would have thought he'd be more pissed at Junior still holding back. _"I'm getting a better handle on my new strength the longer our fight goes on, Junior. You're my own little trial by fire, for lack of a better term. And since you've barely ever used this form of yours before, benefit of the doubt, maybe you're still getting the feel for your own power too. Regardless, Junior…if you don't start bringing your absolute a-game…you are going to die."_

"You know, while wrapping up a bunch of unfortunates throughout history into our fight has been fun, I'd be lying if I said this place wasn't more like what our final battle should be like." Dan remarked to Junior about their surroundings, having a small chuckle over the happy happenstance of their random landing. "Our own little gladiatorial arena."

Raising a flaming eyebrow at the comment, Junior finally also took note of the area, seeing indeed the thousand empty stadium seats rising continuously higher with each row above them. But the center circle which all the seats overlooked, that Junior and Dan stood inside, it was far too small to have been built with combat and physical entertainment in mind.

" _ **Wait…this is…from that memory."**_ Junior started to realize even through the fire that consumed his every thought. The monitors that hung high above the center area were completely shattered, with not a hint that anyone had tried to activate them in years, and a second-longer look at the many seats revealed how torn up and burned they were, but it was as unmistakably the same place the Junior had seen Jorgen von Strangle and Timmy Turner stand trial. _**"This place… This is Observant's Courtroom. This is where they took they took away the God of Magic's memories."**_

"AN OPENING!" Dan screamed as his flying fist connected with Junior's surprised skull, taking full advantage of the Reaper's distracted state. The resulting shockwave from the impact sent out a blast of air strong enough to rattle the seats behind the skeleton down to their bolts. Such strength in his blow thus adding to Dan's following stunned expression; his fist still digging into the Demon Reaper's cheek but Junior still not moved an inch from his standing spot.

His face only slightly swayed by Dan's still-pushing fist, Junior's single eye shifted its cold gaze back firmly on his opponent.

One single move, just to place his open palm against Dan's chest. The resulting fireblast torched the seats behind where the ghost stood, as Junior could see through the hole he'd made.

It was a look of clear agony on Dan's face, a bit odd, Junior noted, as his enemy had been taking hits just as devastating all night. But as he felt two gloved hands grab hold of his skull from behind, the answer was obvious, though too late.

An explosion of green erupted from between the real Dan's hands while his distracting copy just died. What remained of Junior's head smoked between the ghost's palms for a second, but the twitch coming from inside the Reaper's jacket gave Dan his immediate warning to move.

It had to have been ten…no…more like twenty, chains that came bursting out of Junior's back, his undead nature allowing him to attack his opponent even while momentarily decapitated. Too many and too fast for him to dodge, Dan chose another option of avoidance and split himself, creating a perfect copy just as the chain's blade would have speared right through him. And as the more chains came at him, Dan split himself up even more, duplicating and moving himself back each time to give automated chains more targets to be distracted by. By the time Junior's head had reformed, his hot iron tails had netted him at least thirty of the clones, though the very stands where the Observants once stood now held over one hundred of the ghost's sneering faces.

There was no hesitation before the clones unleashed their fury in a barrage of ecto-blasts from all sides. Trapped in the middle of it all, Junior spun his body like he had on the streets of Neo Gotham; staying in place and letting his chains' momentum wrap themselves around his body from head to toe, covering him and using the dead Dan clones as momentary shields just as the blasts struck.

The next minute was nothing but flashes of green and explosions, the Dans not letting up until they were certain their enemy had not gotten away.

All of the same single mind, all the clones ceased their blasts at the same time, giving a minute for the smoke to clear to see what would come out of the crater.

The black metal that rose up from the steaming hole still creaked heavily as it tried to set, the molten redness between its cracks likely being the only reason why the standing Reaper was still limber enough able to put his hands together, cracking his knuckles confidently through his newly formed gauntlets.

" **Just know…I don't need this armor to beat on you, Phantom."** Junior's voice echoed underneath his iron helmet, its design a skull much like his own but more stiff and angled for a touch of added menace. **"It's just going to make it a lot more fun."**

Like a black knight kicked out of Hell. That's what Dan noted to himself with a hint of admitted envy as his many selves looked down at the instant armor that clung so readily to Junior's body. Even just standing this short distance from the Reaper he could practically feel his own body melting from the heat Junior was giving off under that scalding metal hide. He might not even be able to hit the skeleton directly anymore without hurting himself.

And yet, even as his opponent raised the bar of their battle again, Dan smiled.

"Just try and slay this dragon, bonehead." Dan challenged, barely able to contain his excitement as he punched his fist into his palm.

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Boy, this has been a while between uploads. Last chapter looks like it was published in January. I do at least have the good excuse that I had stuff in my personal life I had to focus on (nothing bad, I assure you) before I could do anything else…and the not as great excuse that I've been completely hooked on the _My Hero Academia_ series for a couple months, so that took up a good amount of my time (also a little bit of _UQ Holder_ ).

Well, good news at least is that it won't be that long of a wait between these next couple of chapters. I made sure to get at least three done before I'd post anything, so I have a big head start on writing more future chapters while hopefully being able to do weekly/bi-weekly uploads for a bit.

A lot of the time-travel stuff in this chapter partially happened because I wasn't sure how to make two guys basically just punching each other very interesting, at least in just words. In animation two guys just punching each other can be amazing (All Might vs. Nomu for example), but without any visuals and just descriptions, it can get pretty boring. So I figured maybe their setting and people watching the fight from the outside might liven it up a bit. Not sure if it worked, but it's what I went with.

And in case I laid it out poorly in my writing, Junior and Dan's little time traveling brawl took them through:

The late Cretaceous period

Neo Gotham City from the _Batman Beyond_ animated series

Ancient Egypt to cause the death of Hotep RA, who as a ghost was a _Danny Phantom_ villain in the episode _King Tuck_

The Land of Ooo for Hunson and Marceline Abadeer's touching reunion during the _Adventure Time_ episode _It Came from the Nightosphere_

A hidden Hydra base during World War II just when Captain America and the Howling Commandos were about to attack

And the battle of the planets between Zim and Dib from _Invader Zim_ during the episode, well, _Battle of the Planets_.

Also, I just realized that I've been spelling Boogie's name wrong this entire story. Well, technically "Boogieman" IS how it's normally spelled, but in the original show it's "Boogeyman". I'm kind of mad that I made such a blunder. Oh well, too late to change it. I'll probably just make a joke in-story that he had his name legally changed or something.

* * *

 **QTP:** What is the God of Magic going to do with Appatu? What does the Boogieman have in store for Danny and Daniela? Is Daniela going to have some issues down the road now that she knows her perfect day was all just a dream? What will Clockwork have to say about Junior and Dan's little rampage through history? And who will emerge the victor in the battle of Junior vs. Dan?


	22. Scars of the King

**Part 22: Scars of the King**

 **neverendingZero:** I will say that on her own Daniela is no match for Dan, even without the crown and the ring backing him up. She's growing as the story goes on but some enemies are just out of her league at the moment.

Also, it took me a moment to realize you meant to say flour instead of flower, but still, good memory.

 **DPSS:** Well, there's a couple different reasons why Junior hasn't used the Penance Stare, though I admittedly have not addressed them in story yet, so my apologies. The biggest is that the Devil's Essence has been corrupting the Rider's power through Junior's own darkness, so who knows if the stare would even work. Another reason is that, like Junior said to Lantern, he has very little experience actually using the Rider's power in his layer 3 form. Most of the time he just keeps it within himself to try and keep the Red more in-check. To date he's only brought it out a handful of times: when he first got it, when he fought Guts for the Dragonslayer, against Lantern and Pandora's monsters, and now against Dan. It took Junior a while to learn how to control his Nergal abilities and those are always on, while the Ghost Rider is a little more violent and hard to reign in even without the Devil's Essence. Hope that clears some things up.

1.) That's the thing about sadism; you can find plenty of creative ways to occupy your time.

2.) Something like that.

3.) Fair point, actually, especially since if she doesn't deal with it sometime soon it will likely blow up into something bigger, like it did for Junior and Minnie during the Demon Reaper incident.

4.) It all depends on how much was always meant to happen and how much can safely be put into another timeline.

5.) We'll see.

 **DarkDremora:** Well, just because Danny doesn't have the crown and the ring doesn't mean that the God of Magic doesn't have a few more words he'd like to say to his old friend.

1.) Yep.

2.) You have no idea how much the latter is true, though that might be for another day.

3.) It is one of those things where it would be kind of interesting to know what your truest desire and greatest fear really are, because most of the time it is just a guess or a feeling for people instead of a solid fact.

4.) Time is weird that way and so is Clockwork.

5.) Well, one of those guesses is pretty close to what's going to happen, though for spoilers sake I won't say which.

 **Valtek:** Yeah, I don't like having so much time between my uploads either. Hopefully I'm getting back into a more weekly habit again with this.

1.) Probably that.

2.) Hopefully not that.

3.) She's have some issues to deal with, certainly, though nothing to the level where she'll tie Junior up in a basement.

4.) He does have the power.

5.) Clockwork and the speedsters have actually been pretty chill with each other, surprisingly enough. Perhaps he knows how to deal with the Speed Force better than any of the Flashes do.

 **Major144:** I'm glad you enjoyed the fight. I was a little worried it'd either get boring or too chaotic to follow. You will be seeing Scotsman and Pandora's Ghost within the next few chapters. I actually just finished writing that section (I'm thankfully a couple chapters ahead). Pride will be popping up later, but I do have a plan for her and Lord Pain. As for Tim, he really only cares about Grim and Mandy because of what they took from him. Though I will say that much later on there will be another Underworld lord the God of Magic will do battle with, one who hasn't done anything to him.

 **nightmaster000:** The Infi-Map episode is actually what inspired a lot of stuff in this arc of the story. I think it was that very episode that established that the random Ghost Zone portals go throughout time instead of just space.

1.) Though he might have a little more fun with him first, given he's not in as much of a blind rage as he was before.

2.) Yeah, kind of exactly this.

3.) That is one of my favorite JLU episodes, especially when Superman does just finally snap when Mongul said he should have stayed in his happy fantasy.

4.) Either or.

5.) A lot of people are guessing a draw I'm noticing. Not that I don't get it. The closer the rivals are in level, the better the rivalry tends to be.

 **Adro-Sama:** Well, it's in the dream, anyway. I think the only person the real Junior has been shown having sex with in-story was Ikra and they were furniture at the time.

* * *

 **CHAPTER START**

Complete darkness was all Daniela could see around her. Within this dream world there was no true way of knowing how long she'd been standing in this eternal void, the floor solid despite no indication otherwise that it even existed. It was only due to the voice that came out from the darkness that Daniela even was assured time wasn't just standing still.

"Selfish man, isn't he? That Mr. Fenton." The Boogieman chuckled at Daniela, once again no true direction for her to tell where his voice was coming from. "One minute you're doing the dance with no pants with your dream Junior and next the former Ghost King has to show up and make you realize it's not real. Could have at least let you finish before he ruined your fun."

Feeling the surge of anger rise up through her cheeks, Daniela threw a single shot of ecto-energy from her hand out into the void. The blast flew along for seemingly miles, its glow touching upon nothing else to illuminate, and after a few seconds as a small dot in the distance just blipped out of existence. "You are a sick, disgusting coward!" Daniela yelled out in frustration to the blackness, angry at her enemy refusing to show himself, though with little idea of what she could do if he did.

"Oh, don't act like you didn't love it. I let your dream run on autopilot, so if there's anyone to blame for showing me how much you want to shack up with your brother, it's you."

Daniela felt her face flush, quickly trying to push back the memory of the dream the Boogieman had trapped her in. But suddenly from behind a pair of arms inside a black hooded jacket wrapped themselves around her torso, bringing her in for a hug.

"I love you, Daniela." The dream Junior told her, nuzzling his cheek against her scalp as he whispered into her ear. "I always have."

Her chest hurt from how rapidly her heart beat within it. With her face turning red and her legs going weak, Daniela could feel her will crumbling as her body wanted nothing more than to sink back into Junior's chest.

Letting her eyes slide closed, Daniela took in a gulp.

Suddenly, the tight space between the two bodies lit up with emerald color and the body of the dream Junior was blown away to oblivion.

Her hands still steaming from her blast, Daniela clenched them determinedly at the surrounding void. "I am not so weak-willed that I would succumb to your illusion again!" She yelled out to wherever the Boogieman was hiding. "The proud daughter of Mandy is not so pathetic that she would fall prey to her same weakness twice!"

To that, Boogie just gave a laugh, it echoing throughout the void. "You really should be careful with how you reject the gifts of others." He said to her with a darkly mocking tone. "Using your love for your brother against you was me being kind. Your every thought has betrayed you since you stepped foot into my world, and as such I've got so much more ammunition to throw at you."

A small twinge of fear caused Daniela to take a small step back, the Boogieman's previous toying with her and the Ghost King letting her know that the dream demon was unlikely to be bluffing. But as soon as she did, Daniela felt her back press against something very large, with her spine jumping at the touch of cold, hard metal.

"I can see what you're afraid of." Boogie said to Daniela as she turned around in alarm, a frowning jack-o'-lantern face lighting up before her eyes like a furnace. With barely a second to spare, Daniela managed to leap out of the way before the cyborg Lantern unleashed forth the violent blaze of fire from within the core of his iron pumpkin body. When the dream Lantern turned his travelling beam to follow after her, Daniela threw her hands before her as they glowed bright blue and unleashed her own blast of pure cold and snow to counter the fire. The defensive attack worked, the cold energy pushing back against the raw heat of the cyborg. But then to her horror, the energy in her blast started to get sucked away, trailing off and moving on its own to a location behind her.

"I can see what makes you feel powerless." Boogie continued as Daniela turned around, seeing the cold and snow gathering up into a swirling blue ball just above the palm of Danny Phantom, once again wearing the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage. As the ball turned from blue to green, Daniela quickly got over her shock of seeing the Ghost King again and opened up a portal beneath her feet, allowing herself to fall through as she narrowly avoided being struck by the bolt of green ectoplasm.

Daniela was spat out the other side to safety, but her relief at her portals still working in this fake world did not last long, as a hand suddenly appeared to grab at her throat.

"I can see what you're ashamed of." Boogie chuckled in amusement as it was Manny's hand that choked Daniela, but clearly not his mind. With his hair blazing with white flames and his eyes flashing madly between envious green and hateful red, it was only Daniela's suffocation that kept her tears from flowingly, seeing how much pain she'd caused her twin when she had overshadowed him.

Having to force herself to remember that this was just a dream, Daniela summoned up just enough will through her guilt to kick the dream Manny-Daniela in the chest with both feet, forcing the raging combination to release her throat as she pushed it away.

She was surrounded. Boxing her in on three sides, Lantern, the Ghost King, and the possessed Manny closed in. Daniela tried to fly up and away to give her distance but the tall Lantern's vice-like grip grabbed at her leg and threw her right back down into the floor. Reacting quickly, Daniela turned from the ground to blast at the two oncoming ghosts, but the Ghost King and Manny simply powered through her ecto-streams like they were water from a faucet, barely delayed before their fists connected with her body.

It was the nature of this dream world, how in-flux time seemed to be. Daniela could not tell how long her enemies beat on her; a few seconds or an entire hour. Regardless, the result was the same, leaving the ghost girl in a horribly bloody and broken mess on the black ground of the void.

Her arms twitching painfully against the unseen floor, Daniela tried desperately to push herself back up to her feet, barely even managing to get her head to turn on its side. And in the direction her stinging eyes managed to look, Daniela saw the burning red eyes of her mother staring right back at her.

"And, most interestingly, I can see what you dread the most." The Boogieman sneered as the dream Mandy gave a scoff in disgust at the sight of her daughter's crumpled and beaten body, ignoring Daniela's outstretched pleading hand as she turned around and walked away, her blond hair and white skin vanishing into the shadows of the void.

Small tears trialing down her cheek and onto the floor, Daniela grimaced and winced as she felt Lantern's cold metal hand pick her up by her scalp, dragging her up to her feet and putting her forcibly face-to-face with the blue dream demon.

"Take it from me, kid, looking for her approval is not a road you're gonna be able to make it on." Boogie chuckled, booping the ghost girl's nose mockingly while the Ghost King and the possessed Manny stood obediently at her sides. "She's called the Bitch Queen for a reason. If I decide to let you live, go look up an old "friend" of your mother's named Irwin. See how far devoting yourself to Mandy gets you."

The girl was in his power. That much was clear. In this world, there was nothing she could do to beat him, much less fight back when playing with his rules. He knew it and he knew that the girl was painfully aware of that fact too.

And yet, she still surprised him. As even with her body in tatters and the dream Lantern squeezing her head to keep her upright, ready at any moment to pop it like an overripe melon, the Boogieman was taken slightly aback when Daniela smirked at him, even more so when she gave a small but defiant laugh.

"Let me live? Such an empty bluff, demon." Daniela said to him, Boogie admittedly impressed at the fire in her voice despite its pain. "We both know that you cannot kill me."

Once the moment of surprise had passed, Boogie raised a skeptical eyebrow at the teen's words and raised up his hand to her face, a leather glove now worn around it with a sharp metal claw at the end of each finger. "You think just because the pain is all mental, it isn't real?" He remarked back to Daniela with a smirk as he dragged the claw of his index finger slowly across her cheek, enjoying the winces he got out of her as he made a nice, bloody cut. "You don't watch a lot of movies, so you'll just have to take my word for it, but there's a reason the _"If you die in your dreams, you die in real life"_ rule is such a cliché. Because with just a little bit of the right magic, that rule is made true. And if I decide to tell your brain that you're dead…" He paused sadistically, placing the tips of his glove's claws at her heart. "…please, tell me why you wouldn't die?"

And yet still, Daniela still smirked at him. Unflinchingly so.

"I didn't not say that you can't kill me. Simply that you will not." She explained almost daringly, much to Boogie's interest. "It is like you told the Ghost King, you don't care about me. It's him you want to know more about. And right now I am the only thing keeping him trapped in your world." She pointed out with a confident smile. "For the Ghost King to enter into my dream, he must have overshadowed my sleeping body. When I wake up, the shock would send him out and back into the real world. And if I should die, same result. And you know it."

"Hm. Clever girl." Boogie remarked to her, though his own confidence not breaking. "But all that means is I just can't kill you until I get what I want from our dear Mr. Fenton. Once that happens…"

"But the fact that you're here, wasting time with me, means it hasn't happened yet, has it, demon?" Daniela interrupted him, some fear still in her voice but more than enough determination to push through it. "My physical body may not have much strength but you'll find my mind to be quite fine. All you've managed to do is torture me just to pass the time, and if I'm able to put up this much of a fight despite my inexperience, then the Ghost King must be an endless source of frustration for you." She theorized with a mocking smirk, getting a few stunned blinks from the Boogieman. "Perhaps you should not have included Junior in my dream. Someone who's presence reminds me that I need to show more confidence in my abilities."

"Clearly." Boogie murmured before giving a small pause in pondering, not having expected the girl to put up this much of an effective fight. With just a thought the demon had Lantern release Daniela's head, the ghost girl landing on her feet despite the surprise and noticeably no longer brokenly injured. The pain was certainly real for her, his digs into all the hardships of her past had seen to that, but the fact that her dream body had put itself back together so quickly after her beating did suggest her claimed mental strength was not a complete bluff.

Observing that the three enemies of memory's past had suddenly seemed to have vanished from around her, Daniela looked at her remaining opponent and commented "It would seem we've reach something of an impasse."

At that, it was finally the Boogieman's turn to smirk again. "No, child, we really haven't." He told her confidently, raising his non-gloved hand up in the air and snapping his fingers.

The lights suddenly came on around them, the large laboratory appearing for the two to stand center within still too small to have possibly been what the void had hiding in its darkness. The wide room was filled with wires and strange gadgets, the grey metallic walls brimming with technology that the more old-fashioned Daniela could never comprehend. But the most noticeable feature of this strange workshop was easily what sat at its end; the small tunnel embedded in the far wall, its striped black and yellow doors holding open for the darkness inside, only illuminated by a single dim green light at the chamber's end.

And before the open tunnel Daniela saw Danny, a teenager again like he'd become when remembering the ghost Nocturn earlier, though opposite in appearance. Quite literally. His messy tufted hair was jet black instead of snow white and the jumpsuit he was wearing was almost completely white, save for the black gloves and boots. Given her own experiences with her powers, Daniela quickly came to the conclusion that this was the Ghost King's human form, though clearly well before he ever put on the crown and ring.

The light inside the chamber barely being enough for him, Danny's hands felt along the walls as he walked in, apparently taking no notice of the two behind him. Trying to see past him from the short distance she stood, Daniela's eyes adjusted to the dimness just in time to notice Danny's unaware hand slide over a small green button.

Unintentionally putting his weight on it, Danny pushed down on the button, and the sudden great flash that followed nearly blinded Daniela; Danny screaming as he was suddenly caught in the center of the machine's activation.

When the spots left Daniela's eyes and she was finally able to see again, the chamber's doors were not open to an empty space inside but instead a gently swirling, gooey green vortex, not unlike the portals she and her father were able to create on their own.

And exiting out of this vortex, nearly collapsing onto the floor as he did so, was Danny, groaning weakly and the colors of his suit and hair reversed yet again, barely able to keep himself upright as his legs and arms faded continuously between a solid and a gas.

The words that the Ghost King had screamed at her before suddenly came echoing back through Daniela's mind. _"Nobody is born half-ghost."_ He'd said, so completely sure of that singular truth.

"This is how it happened." Daniela said to herself hushly, in a stunned realization. "This is how he became a halfa…"

Boogie nodded his head apathetically, just giving a roll of his eyes as Danny reacted in horror to his skin momentarily turning translucent, allowing him to see his bones and muscles underneath. "Yes, our dear Danny Fenton was just fourteen when his parents built this very strange machine. It was designed to view a world unseen. Yadda yadda, we've all heard the rap." He said as he rolled his hand.

Just as Danny seemed to be getting his bearings and at least be able to stand on his own without leaning against the walls, both his and the green portal suddenly just vanished. Daniela was unable to comprehend what had just happened when then the human Danny came walking back up to the empty metal chamber again, almost an exact recreation of what she'd seen before.

"What…? What's going on?" Daniela asked aloud in confusion, her thoughts hardly able to be kept quiet in a dream world.

"He's been doing that for the last ten minutes." Boogie explain, rubbing the temples of his head as he clearly had a headache. "A rather impressive bit of pseudo-mediation. He's focusing so hard on one of the most impactful memories of his life that I can't get his mind to wander to the memories I actually want to see." As a bit of a demonstration, Boogie removed the clawed glove from his hand and tossed it at Danny, the metal and leather just fading away into the air before they even touched the oblivious teen as he walked through the open chamber doors.

After watching Danny get zapped again by the portal's activation, Daniela took a gulp to swallow her fear and turned to the Boogieman. "Is that why you brought me here? Are you hoping to torture me enough that he snaps out of his mantra and tries to save me?" She asked, forcing out a tougher tone and crossing her arms to show that she was not going to be intimidated even if that was the demon's plan. "If he's really in as deep as you say, I imagine the greatest result you'll gain is simply wasting your own time again."

"You're very talkative for someone in way over their head." Boogie commented to her, though still smiling. "And about to be over his head." He added with a nod at Danny as the then-again ghost boy came wobbling out of the manmade Ghost Zone portal.

Daniela cocked her head slightly in her confusion. "Wait…wha-!" She started to ask before being lifted up by the back of her dress and tossed by the Boogieman, right into Danny. The two ghosts fell over in a crimpled heap on the floor, the shock of their sudden impact being the only reason Daniela did not become red-faced upon finding herself atop of him.

Danny rubbed his head dizzily, as the world seemed to start coming back to him. "Dan-…Daniela?" He said, it taking him a moment to realize that he did recognize her.

Before Daniela could say anything, the white light that suddenly stretched their shadows warned her of the coming attack from behind, her instincts causing her to grab Danny and roll with him, dodging out of the way of the fist that indented the floor with its image. The two startled ghosts looking back at the scene, it was the Daniela-possessed Manny that pulled his hand up out of the shattered tiles, growling like a feral animal as he looked back at them.

"Dan?!" Danny yelled in mistaken shock, the confusion not hard to understand, given how much of his father's mirror image the dream Manny appeared when he savagely launched himself forward to attack the two again.

Pushing each other away to avoid the attack, Danny and Daniela ended up on opposite sides of the lab, the dream Manny stuck in the space between them. The possessed ghost boy faced no indecision. As he was a regret conjured up from Daniela's mind, she was the one he immediately fired his ecto-blast at, Daniela unleashing forth her own from her palms to counter it.

Seeing his opening, Danny prepared to blast the dream Manny too from behind, but before he could do anything the ghost found himself suddenly grabbed and lifted up by the collar of his jumpsuit by a black gloved hand.

In just a blink and the scenery around Daniela had changed drastically. The walls of the lab replaced by the many buildings of a wide townscape and the ceiling removed in favor of the open sky above, the dark clouds swirling around each other unnaturally. And right in the center of it all, floating above some ruined burger restaurant and a group of six people clearly tied as hostages to a rumbling boiler, was Danny, being held face to face with Dan Phantom.

" _What are you going to do? Waste me?"_ Danny asked his future self, the words and daring anger flowing from his mouth just like it'd happened so many years ago. _"What happens to you then?"_

" _You don't get it, do ya?"_ The dream Dan remarked back with sinister smirk. _"I'm still here. I still exist! That means you still turn into me."_

One solid punch from Dan's ecto-fueled fist and Danny was sent sailing across the street, his momentum stopped only by his impact against the hard metal streetlight.

Dan floated above the sore Danny as he gloated. _"I don't have to waste you. I just have to run out the clock until your entire life…falls apart."_

Like the wraith that he was, Dan dove down at Danny, his mouth hanging open in crazed laughter as he attacked, as battle-hungry as he'd ever be.

Danny tensed himself, ready to phase through the street to put some distance between the two of them. But upon seeing Daniela standing beside his bound family and friends (and Mr. Lancer) within the ruined Nasty Burger, a slight headache came that was enough to get Danny's thoughts to clear again, if only just enough.

When Dan got in close enough, instead of going under the concrete like he actually had back in his past, Danny grabbed at Dan's head, pulling back on the older ghost's scalp until his face started to stretch like spandex. Pulling forward a little more and the face popped off like a mask, revealing the Boogieman underneath.

"I'm not falling for your tricks." Danny declared as he set the mask on fire using the ecto-energy charging through his hand.

Boogie, his head still sitting smugly atop the dream Dan's broad shoulders, remarked back "You could have fooled me. Well…actually I suppose you did, at least at first."

Not liking what the Boogieman was possibly getting at, Danny closed his eyes and attempted to focus again, his will causing their surroundings to shift back to the Fentonworks laboratory.

Boogie, after giving an "Aw." in disappointment at Dan's buff body vanishing from around him, leaving his thinner robed one behind, was quite clearly unworried otherwise. "Sorry, Mr. Fenton, but I'm afraid that's not going to work anymore." The demon smiled at the ghost while wagging his finger.

Unsure what the Boogieman was talking about at first, the lights dimmed as Daniela felt a large shadow casting over her. Looking up she witnessed in horror as the ceiling above had morphed into an enormous metal hand, one that reached down towards her.

"Daniela!" Danny yelled to her, in fear that she had been crushed when the hand grabbed the girl before she could get away. To his relief, though soon paranoia, Daniela was alright, only snatched up by the hand so that it may lift her up and hold her upside-down by her legs above him and the Boogieman.

Oddly relieved herself that the hand's grip kept her dress skirt from overturning and revealing her undergarments to the two men, Daniela found herself suddenly being shaken like a piggybank. Not an inaccurate comparison, as things did start to fall out of the quickly close to vomiting Daniela: papers.

To be more exact, as Daniela would recognize if she were still enough to focus on them, they were wanted posters, the same ones Junior had shown her from his book back in _The Last Resort_. Danny was able to read off a few as the X'd out pages fluttered past him. Wuya, the Ghost Rider, Rita Repulsa. But just as soon as he'd read the Lich's name off the creature's poster, Boogie suddenly snatched it out of the air.

"Ahh, here's the one. My master has mentioned him once or twice." Boogie chuckled as he tapped the paper. Reaching elbow-deep into the picture on the poster, Boogie pulled back once he'd grabbed onto something quite large; big enough to start stretching the border of the picture as its decaying, half-horned head came up to the surface.

"No…" Danny could say only that single word as he took a step back, too afraid to even blink as undead abomination stood towering above him, fully emerged from his poster.

"Funny how you can find someone's fear in someone else's memories." Boogie remarked casually, taking a step back as the Lich's hands erupted in unholy green fire to attack Danny. Not even realizing he was in his adult form again, Danny quickly threw up an energy dome around himself, protecting himself from the cascading flames, though clearly just barely given how much he sweat as his shield started to crack.

Daniela fell with an "Oopfh!" to the ground, the giant hand that held her having vanished along with the rest of the lab, replaced by a moldy old brickwork dungeon and a sickly green bubbling pool. A single breath and Daniela felt like she was suffocating, the air seemingly filled with nothing but the smell of rotting meat and death. Given how Danny was reacting to the Lich, what was happening had to be getting taken from his memories. The ghost girl could only imagine how much worse the stench must have been in real life.

His forcefield nearly about to break, Danny used one last push of his energy to throw the energy shield further against the Lich's flames, just long enough for him to quickly fly up and away from the blast before the shield finally shattered. Doing his best to ignore the Lich (though the creature's following exhale of blackened breath decaying whatever it touched making that easier said than done), Danny finally spotted Boogie again, still standing in place behind the monster. Daniela quickly picking up on the other ghost's lead, she blasted at the Boogieman from behind while Danny did the same from the front. With holes opening up in his body like he was made of silly putty, the two ecto-steams passed harmlessly through Boogie's body.

"A rather clever plan, even I'll admit." He remarked casually to Danny as the openings in his body resealed. "You deliberately pointed out to the girl earlier that you could resist falling too deeply into your dreams because there were two of you. Not generally a good idea to discuss your plans in front of your enemy. …Unless, of course, your enemy taking steps to overcome their weakness is gives you your real advantage."

Daniela was distracted from deciphering the Boogieman's meaning as she realized the Lich had focused its sunken-in green eyes upon her and Danny once again. It took in a breath, readying to smother them in the stench of decay, when suddenly from on high came a single thunderbolt, striking the off-guard Lich hard across the face. The unholy sorcerer moaned emptily at the blast, but was otherwise unfazed, even with the bolt having taken off half the walking corpse's face.

But holding onto the Lich's now exposed and blackened skeletal cheek, Daniela saw a man, one whom had appeared from the lightning itself. His white robe flapped behind him as the Lich tried to shake him off, soon summoning another bolt of lightning from the tip of his crooked wooden staff to deflect back the bare bone hand that tried to grab him. The stranger was certainly putting up a good fight, but even from the ground below it was clear how much pain the man was in being so close to the Lich, the creature's basic aura causing the man's flesh to start shriveling up and age rapidly. Had the situation been less hectic, in another minute Daniela perhaps would have realized why the brown-haired individual looked so familiar to her.

Upon the man's sudden arrival, Danny tried to resist falling into his replaying memory as best he could. For the most part it worked, though right beside him appeared a second Danny, one echoing the exact words from this memory he'd tried to resist saying.

" _Tim, stop! You don't know what absorbing this thing's magic could do to you!"_

The stranger grimaced heavily, the Lich just laughing coldly as the man's skin started to flake off his body in decay. _"Maybe… But it's better than the alternative!"_ He yelled back down to Danny, pushing on in determination as red streaks of energy suddenly started to appear and flow through the Lich's body, all the lines converging at where the stranger's hand held on. The man's pain seemed only to increase as his skin blackened sickly and his eyes started to sink in like the Lich's. His screams of agony were unbearable to hear, but as the minute rolled on the Lich had stopped laughing, now seeming to realize that something was quite wrong.

Danny's body suddenly snapped into the place of his memory's echo, quickly flying up to come to the aid of his tortured friend.

Realizing what was happening, Daniela flew up herself and tackled Danny in the air before he could reach the man known as Tim, sending them both falling back down. "Ghost King! Snap out of it! You know this isn't real!"

Indeed, after a moment of struggle Danny finally stopped fighting against her upon seeing Daniela's face. However, when the two slammed back onto the ground, Daniels realized that she wasn't hearing the previously very loud sounds of the two magic users struggling against each other anymore, nor had their landing been on hard black stone but rather soft and bright green grass.

" _Are you sure about this?"_ A woman's voice soon was heard, much to Daniela's surprise and Danny's stress as his heart sank. Getting off each other and turning their bodies to look, the Lich and the mage were gone, replaced instead by Danny, or at least his memory's echo of himself from this moment of his past, standing on top of this same hill with a tall black man in a professional business suit and thick glasses, along with girl about Daniela's age and with far more in common than that.

She was a ghost with the same green eyes and white hair like the both of them, but tied into a ponytail at the back, and even with a black and white outfit very much like Danny's, though with the shirt shortened to show off her midriff. _"Is this his sister?"_ Daniela wondered to herself.

" _Dani, you haven't seen what Tim can really do. I have."_ The Danny of the memory told the girl, trying to get her to see his point. _"I…I have try this."_

Dani rubbed her hand through her hair, clearly trying to find the right words to convince Danny otherwise without crushing his hopes _. "Look…Danny…you're still in mourning."_ She said to him as gently as she could. _"I know how badly you want to do something, anything, just to help you move forward, but what you're talking about…magic and wishes…stuff that's way over even Desirée's abilities. It's just…are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?"_

Danny didn't respond back at first, seeming to also have some of his own doubts, despite still wanting to try. And before anything further was said, the real present Danny unleashed his Ghostly Wail upon the hill itself. While the three in the memory were unaffected, Daniela pugged her ears with her fingers to keep from going deaf from the high-frequency sounds, not sure what Danny was even trying to attack before she saw the side of the hill split open with a toothy smirk and two large black-pitted eyes.

"The girl's presence is a double-edge sword, isn't it?" Boogie asked Danny, shifting the entire hillscape as he spoke, though still not disturbing those in the memory from their replaying roles. "She can help snap you out of your old memories when you start mistaking them too much for the current reality, but she's basically a pink elephant, yes? While she's with you in here you can't not think about her, meaning you can't focus enough to keep your thoughts contained to just one memory, at least not the ones you want."

" _It's all right. Let him go."_ The man beside Dani and the Danny of memory finally spoke up, his voice contemplative, but taking in short breath to help him confirm that he'd made up his mind.

" _What? But…Tucker…"_ Dani started to speak in protest, but the man raised his hand up gently to politely cut her off and give him the chance to speak first.

Tucker looked over to Danny, the two old friends not able to quite meet the other's eye as they tried to find the right words to say.

" _If you need anything, no matter what it is, give us a call, all right? Even if it doesn't seem important."_ Tucker finally was the first to break the silence.

Danny of the memory gave him a single firm but thankful nod. _"You got it."_ He said, his voice slightly choked and incredibly grateful for his friend's words. He turned over to Dani, smiling slightly. _"You two will keep Amity Park safe while I'm gone?"_

" _Always."_ Dani nodded before rushing in to give Danny a hug, hesitantly accepting his choice. _"I'll miss you."_

" _You too, cous."_ Danny said, patting her back. When she eventually released him, he turned back to Tucker, the two men simply giving each other a firm, full handshake. _"I'll find a way to bring her back."_ He promised him strongly.

Tucker, still somewhat unsure of the journey his friend was about to undertake, simply said back _"Just…be careful out there, dude."_

"Ooh, a long and possibly perilous journey with your new friend Tim?" The Boogieman cooed, getting quite the glare from the real Danny in return. "Do I detect some hardships and regrets in the memories that followed this decision?"

"Nothing you shouldn't already know." Danny stated sternly, the grit in his teeth showing he'd become quite fed up with the demon's games.

Like the hillside was suddenly being sucked in through a straw, the scenery dramatically changing again, though this time Daniela was shocked to see it was a place she recognized; one that she'd grown up playing through her entire life: The ballroom of Castle Grimskull, the same one the Boogieman had used for the coronation in the dream he'd trapped her in. At first she thought that's where they were again due to the large crowd of demonic partygoers, but soon a fat red devil whom Daniela did not recognize (wearing, to the horror of her stinging eyes, only a tuxedo shirt and no pants to cover his wide bottom) pushed his way through the crowd with confident rudeness, Danny and the brown haired man from before following behind him, both actually appropriately dressed for such a fancy gathering.

Reaching his destination, the Red Guy tapped on the shoulder of a blonde woman in a long black dress, whom Daniela realized was her mother when the woman turned around.

" _Mandy, darling, you simply must meet my new friends. This one in particular has killed at least three sorcerers I owed money to before today!"_ The Red Guy said to Mandy as he tugged on the man's sleeve, the words out of his mouth going from smooth to insanely erratic, which was apparently the norm for him as no one gave any reaction to the change. _"Timmy Turner, I'd like you to meet my good friend, Mandy Kramer. Or I suppose it's Mandy Grim now. Whatever!"_

Timmy and Mandy shook each other's hands in a polite enough greeting.

" _Nice teeth."_ Mandy remarked dryly at the noticeable incisors poking down the front of the man's face.

" _Nice nose."_ Timmy remarked back, commenting on her lack-there-of just as dryly, the two proceeding to give the other quite the death glare in annoyance.

"Boring!" Boogie declared as he suddenly appeared behind the two, bopping his butt into the memory Mandy so hard that it sent her and half the partygoers flying across the ballroom. "Nobody cares about how those two met. Or did you really think I wouldn't realize you were trying to throw me off again?"

"I thought you wanted to learn more about me and your oh-so-great master?" Danny said, actually having taken the place of his echo in the memory and wearing the same suit.

"Oh, I did, and still do." Boogie shrugged at the ghost, none of the guests in the party around them even noticing the three's presence. "But you see, I have this funny little awareness when I'm toying around with someone in my world." He said as a thin red thread appeared in his hand, the other end leading off into the crowd and by the look of it even further away than that, far out of sight. "You, Danny boy, are trying to keep me here, in this memory. But in the back of your mind, there's something you're trying not to think about. Some memory that keeps tugging on your conscious, just out of sight but still connected to you by a string of memories, or in this case, a thread of them. And with just the right pull…!"

Both hands grabbing the thread, Boogie gave a red line a mighty heave and suddenly it was like the castle was collapsing in on them, the walls and ceiling falling right over and smothering everything. Quickly activating her intangibility, the rubble passed harmlessly through Daniela, though after minute she worried if she'd even needed to bother, as once all the debris had flown past her and formed a stable floor, she found Danny and the Boogieman simply still standing where they had been, unaffected.

The new surroundings were of a city in complete ruins. Skyscrapers tipped over or completely shredded on the outside, with only a few scattered broken mechas and other robots to decorate the otherwise bleak and silent scenery. Daniela thought she might recognize this city from some of the stories the Grim Reaper had told her when she was younger; the ruined city of Megaville.

Beside Danny and the Boogieman, Daniela spotted the one other source of color besides grey in the wreckage of buildings.

The Danny from this moment in his memory was kneeling in despair on the ground, the body of Dani, the girl from his earlier memory, in his arms. Human, her eyes closed, and with a very large stain of red all across her chest, long dried up from where it'd come up from the hole through her heart.

" _I'm sorry, Dani…"_ The past Danny said hoarsely to the body, luminating her with the green glow of the fires of his crown as he held her close, the most noticeable change from the many other memories. _"I should have been there…"_ His shoulders quivered as he started to cry against her head.

Spotting something near the dream Danny's foot, Boogie reached down, picking up the same pair of thick glasses Tucker had worn in the other memory and holding them up to his face to admire the many cracks. "Shame. These two really had terrible taste in friends, didn't they, Danny?"

To the demon's slight surprise, it was not Danny whom retaliated against him but rather Daniela, blasting the Boogieman with a sudden wave of cold energy and incasing his entire upper half in solid ice.

"Enough of this!" She declared, even Danny's wide eyes having been taken by surprise of her actions. "I may not know you personally, Ghost King, but that doesn't not mean I want to see you tormented."

Slowly, the Boogieman's top-heavy body tipped over, shattering into hundreds of bloody red and blue-hued shards upon hitting the ground. Though of course that meant very little to the dream demon. Each little shard sprouted eight tiny legs, allowing them to scurry over each other to form an ever-increasing mound, the body of each piece now showing the Boogieman's face in its center.

"You'd think at least one of you would get the idea that nothing you do in here is going to work." The many Boogie-spiders echoed in unison. As they continued to climb over each other, the spiders branched off to form a mock pair of arms and head, shaped in the Boogieman's own image. Boogie then put his endlessly squiggling hand up to his spider-made chin in pondering. "She's not just any pink elephant, is she?" He remarked to Danny, his tone of slow realization putting the ghost back on edge. "It's not just that the girl's presence is distracting you. She's reminding you of something in particular. Something you're always trying to keep buried, not just from me."

His words nearly having hit the nail on the head, the surroundings changed again, though far more dramatically that any of the transitions that came before. Daniela nearly immediately fell over to all fours as they were suddenly back in the green-skies of Ghost Zone, deafening explosions and screams continuously ringing in her quickly covered ears.

A mass of white and green shapes darting past her, Daniela recognizing the group of ghosts as the Observants, the overseers and peacekeepers of the Ghost Zone she'd learned about in Ms. Pataki teachings; all four clearly fleeing fearfully for their afterlives.

As fast as the thunderbolt from earlier, the brown-haired mage who fought the Lich appeared, his full hand grabbing onto the back of one Observant's head to pull him away from the others. The same red streaks that'd appeared in the Lich's body ran through the Observant's now too, but the effect was devastatingly quicker. How a creature with no mouth could scream in such horrid agony, the sound would haunt Daniela's thoughts for the rest of her days. All the color near instantly drained from the Observant's form, and as its single eye rolled back into its head, the blobish ghost fell still, its now grey body falling away into dust between his killer's fingers.

With the captured Observant no longer blocking her view, Daniela could finally see the mage's face, so completely twisted in hellish rage; something the other Observants seemed to see as well as they redoubled their efforts and panic as they tried to escape.

Little good it would do, as with just a toss of his hand the mage threw several bolts of lightning at once at the ghosts to cut them off, far too fast for them to hope to outmatch.

But before the bolts would have connected, a shield of green ecto-energy fell between them, taking the full force of the magical attack to protect them.

" _Go! Run!"_ Danny of the memory yelled to the remaining three Observants, the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage flaring with such intense light as they added strength to his conjured shield.

The ghosts hardly needed to be told twice, immediately darting away as soon as the chance was had.

As one would guess, this did not diminish the mage's rage any.

" _You're helping them?!"_ He roared at Danny, his eyes blazing with pink fire as his body brimmed so much magical energy it could barely be contained.

" _Tim, stop! You need to calm down!"_ Danny begged his friend, though noticeably still not lowering his shield.

Tim refused to do any such thing, holding his arm back in a tensed position as a massive javelin, easily the size of a skyscraper, appeared forth above his hand, made of pure concentrated light from the photons he pulled out of the air. _"THEY TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!"_ He screamed as he threw the massive weapon, so fast that no one could even see its path. Between the beginning and the end of a single second it'd been above Tim's hand and the next it was behind Danny, the ghost's shield completely shattered through its center and the king himself not yet having realized his entire left half had been torn away.

His regeneration worked well enough thankfully, as everything Danny was missing quickly came filling back in, good as new. But the lightshow did not end there, as from the thick oozing ectoplasmic walls of the endless Ghost Zone, Danny started to be struck by some strange new green lightning. It did not hurt him. In fact, it seemed like Danny was actually absorbing the emerald lightning's power, with each flare of electricity rippling through his chest and muscles. Both hands coming together in position at his side, a growing ball of blinding green energy started to build up between the ghost's palms, crackling with so much of its own energy that it zapped back at some of the Ghost Zone's own continuously striking lightning and looking like it was melting the world around it.

Tim's move was simpler but in its own way far more dramatic. Holding his hands out, the space behind the mage started to bend and warp, Daniela having to rub her eyes at the impossible sight to make she was truly seeing what she thought. Out of the walls, ectoplasma, air, and basic reality that make up the Ghost Zone, Tim created two mountainous hands, both following his own hands' movements exactly.

This was no trick conjured up by the Boogieman's dream world. In this memory, playing out exactly as Danny experience it, these two once human men really existed, both so powerful their very actions wrapped the very dimension around them.

" _You can't beat me here, Tim! You know that!"_ Danny called out to his former friend in one last bit of desperation, the power between his palms too much to hold back any longer.

Tim, with just a scowl, shook his head. _"I don't care."_

The two powers clashed, Daniela being sent for a tumble as the entire realm rocked on its axis. The entire world was a blur of motion and it was only luck that Daniela managed to find some floating mass of rock to cling onto. Opening her eyes as much as she could against the mighty winds in order to try and make out anything around her, the ghost girl was able to spot Danny again. The real one this time, as evidenced by his current struggle amidst all the chaos against the Boogieman, his robe-clad body having returned to normal.

"A nice little segue you did there. Using your guilt over not being there for your genderbent clone to remind yourself why you weren't. Too busy hiding in the Ghost Zone and keeping an eye out for the God of Magic's return, I suppose." Boogie mocked Danny as their interlocked hands struggled against each other. "But even this memory is connected by that little thread I mentioned. Connected to another memory hidden just out of sight, but it's there. I can feel your mind trying so hard to bury it. The thing that all your grief and regrets are centered up."

Danny's face grimaced, his thought doing everything they could to drown the demon out. Fist in a green glow, Danny pulled his hand back from Boogie's before starting to be him across the face with it, trying to make him finally silent. But this was the Boogieman's world, ruled by his rules, and even with his face getting continuously smashed in, he just talked on. No pain in his voice. Just excited impatience.

"Come on! Stop fighting me! Show me what it was! What's that one moment of your life that Dan was so certain would break you?! That's what it is, isn't it? It's all centered around that one word! Show me, Danny boy! Who, or what, is Lilith?!"

Suddenly, there was a beep, and Danny completely froze. A second later and another followed. Then another. And then another. Each beep coming in at a still, constant rhythm.

Daniela never having seen the Ghost King's eyes so full of dreading fear, Danny slowly turned around.

They were all in a hospital room, one within the mortal realm. And there, lying on the provided bed, teal blue sheet up to her waste and weak breath fogging up the inside of the respiratory mask that covered her mouth, was a woman with long black hair, the exposed roots showing the color was likely the result of a dye. It was her heartrate on the machine that they had been hearing.

"No… No, please…" Danny begged quietly, unable to take his eyes off the bed as slow tears started to leak down his cheek.

For the moment, the Boogieman said nothing and neither did Daniela, though it was not out of quiet observation like it was for the demon. It was the sheer atmosphere of the room that choked up Daniela's throat. The cold, dark feeling that she'd never be happy again consuming the entire memory.

The woman on the bed stirred, immediately grabbing the attention of everyone present.

"… _Danny?"_ She called weakly from where she laid.

He didn't even try to fight it. With just a couple steps forward, Danny took the place of his memory's echo of himself, his form shifting seamlessly to human as he knelt down beside the bed. _"I'm… I'm here, Sam."_ His voice croaked.

Though it was with great effort, the woman managed to open her eyes, revealing them to be the most beautiful shade of purple Daniela had ever seen. Trying to get her to not stress herself, Danny took her hand, holding it and kissing its back gently.

Though it offered her a moment of comfort and peace, slowly tears started to slide down the woman's face too. _"Danny…I'm so sorry…"_

" _No. Don't you say that."_ Danny shook his head, trying to hide his own tears. _"This…none of this…is your fault…"_

"Ohh." The Boogie said in an almost happy growl, snapping Daniela back to attention as she'd almost forgotten he was there. "Ohhhhhh ho ho ho, ha ha ha hahaha! Hahahahahaha!" He slowly clapped as he started to laugh like a maniac.

"What? What are you... What are you laughing about?"

Only paying Daniela a half-hearted bit of attention, Boogie leered down at Danny. "What's the matter, Danny boy? Your mind's practically an open book for me now. Don't take too much of the fun out of this for me." He chuckled sadistically, thrumming his pointy little fingers atop the man's scalp, to which the crying Danny showed no reaction to. Like with the dream Daniela had been trapped in, Danny was too lost in the illusion to even be aware of anything else around him. "Sam Manson Fenton. The woman our dear Danny here dated all through high school and college, marrying her after as soon as he could." Boogie stated as he stood back up, his eyes fixed upon Danny with such cruelty. "Such long relationships that begin so early are usually destined to fail, but somehow they made it work. He loved watching her fight alongside him in their ghost hunting activities, but even more so he loved the little section of the world that she made for herself. A little gothic and occult themed bookstore on a corner in Amity Park. He loved seeing how happy she was in there. I can see those are some of the memories he revisits the most just to help himself get out of bed in the morning." Boogie chuckled.

Daniela watched as Danny rubbed Sam's hand against his cheek, getting a small smile back from the bedridden woman. _"Stay with me."_ She heard him beg in a whisper between the blips on the heartrate monitor.

"And what a happy day it was when they found out she was pregnant!" Boogie continued with the story. "Their first clue didn't come from some test strip or morning sickness, no, no, that came later. One day Samantha was weighing herself on their bathroom scale, feeling like she'd put on an odd bit of weight recently, when suddenly she phased through the floor! Turns out the baby takes a little bit from the ghostly father's side, meaning random spurts of ghost powers for the mother. All was fine though. The excited grandparents built a special belt device to help their daughter-in-law keep from going through walls against her will and the married couple just needs to wait happily for another nine months to welcome their lovechild into the world.

"But then one evening, about seven months in, Sam suddenly started coughing up blood." Boogie said with a sadistic smirk. "As the baby grew and developed into its own form, those random flashes of ghost powers stopped affecting the mother's entire body and started going only for certain parts. Internal bleeding was just the start. Air bubbles started going places they shouldn't. One of her ribs punctured a lung when it phased into it and became solid. Danny here can't remember ever flying as fast as he did on the day his wife just collapsed, fearing she'd had a stroke. Sad reality is, human and ghost biology doesn't tend to mix, despite what the halfa's existence might lead you to believe otherwise."

"Wait, but my mother is human too, and she-"

"Is immortal." Boogie pointed out to Daniela. "Both Samantha and Mandy are pure human, but only one has a deal with Death that instantly fixes any injury to the body. One was able to last the entire nine months until delivery, the other…well…it wasn't a stroke that put her in that bed. It was a miscarriage." The horrid demon said almost delightfully. "Her womb collapsed and she hemorrhaged a lot of blood before they got her into surgery. But, as you might guess, the many health problems caused by an unborn ghost destroying your body from the inside were just too much.

"The Fentons lost the baby they'd been waiting for. They'd have been perfectly happy with a boy, of course, but secretly they were hoping for a girl. They were going to name her Lilith." He mentioned, with a knowing look at the stunned Daniela. "It's so sickeningly sweet how they decided that name. Apparently his wife had named one of the those fake flour sack babies they were supposed to take care of in high school health class that. Whenever he'd imagine their life together in the future, though he'd never admit it, that's always the name he thought they'd give their daughter." Boogie blew a disgusted raspberry at the very thought, but still couldn't stop giggling through it, as he could very well see that's not how Danny's story went.

"He lost his wife and his child…AND IT WAS ALL HIS FAULT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Boogie threw his head back in mad laughter, joining the deafening sound of the flatlining heart monitor.

After what felt like an eternity of Daniela's throat choking itself as she watched Danny sobbing into his wife's body, the scenery changed again, naturally this time it would seem. The Boogieman hardly needed to push Danny's thoughts towards this memory. Whatever daze he was lost in in the weeks following her death, Danny's thoughts were always quite clear at the following moment in his life.

All around Daniela and Boogie were countless tombstones getting smacked by hard rain, with Danny right before them standing in front of the grave baring his wife's name.

Still trapped in place of his memory's echo of himself, Daniela saw his eyes, the tears having long dried up and leaving Danny with just a dead stare. Given how soaked his funeral suit was, he must have been standing out in this downpour for quite a while, long after others had left or he'd asked them to just give him another minute.

She hardly knew him, and yet it hurt her heart so much to see him like this. Daniela reached out, hoping to touch Danny's shoulder and shake him out of this remembered hell. But by chance Danny fell to his knees at that moment, Daniela's hand missing him as slowly Danny pressed his head against the gravestone. His body trembling terribly, for what seemed like an eternity Danny just held the marker, unable to go on.

Daniela felt the tears start to burn their way through her own eyes. Again she reached out to touch him, as much to help herself escape this sadness as him.

But them she paused, noticing something. The rain had stopped falling on Danny and the grave. But she could still hear the sound of the thousand droplets continuously falling.

Looking up, Daniela nearly fell over. A dome of sorts had formed directly above and around the small area, made purely from the water of each drop that hit the rippling shield.

" _You look like you could use a friend."_ Danny's head perked slightly in surprise at the sudden voice. _"As it happens, I could use a couple of my own."_

Danny finally picked his head up from the gravestone, his stinging eyes only now noticing the dome around him and the stranger who'd appeared at his side, sitting impossibly secure on a floating wooden staff, his white robe and thick brown hair completely dry despite the storm.

" _Wh…who? Who are you?"_ Danny's voice croaked.

Like the mage was only now noticing his oversized buck teeth, he placed his sparkling thumb underneath them to push the incisors back up into his mouth for a more picturesque view. _"The name's Timmy Turner, and I'm the guy who's going to fix the world."_ He smiled brightly at the fallen Danny as he offered out his hand to him, his white robe etching him out like a light again from the dark cemetery around them. _"Wanna come help me?"_

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

 **Author's notes:** Well, so far, so good on the weekly upload. Let's see if I can keep it up.

Like Boogie said, the name Lilith is a reference to the original _Danny Phantom_ cartoon, with Lilith being what Sam named the flour sack baby she and Tucker were assigned in the _Life Lessons_. Just a small reference to the show and I have seen fanart where that's what Danny and Sam named their daughter (and the son was usually named DJ, which I'm assuming is short for Danny Jr), so I felt it was as good of a name as any. And it works out continuity-wise, since the episode does take place before _The Ultimate Enemy_ , so Dan would know that that's the name he and Danny would have imagined giving to their and Sam's child back in high school. Maybe a tad unrealistic that he'd remember it so long after, but he became a half-ghost superhero at the age of 14. Slightly unrealistic drama's kind of in the blood of stories like his.

I do have an actual timeline of events for this story mostly mapped out, so that I can try and stay consistent with what happened when. Once more details are revealed about Timmy and Mandy's history I'll lay the full thing out, but for the moment, the timeline of events for Danny's flashbacks are: Sam's death, Danny meets Timmy, Danny tells Tucker and Dani that he's going with Timmy, the battle with the Lich, the party at Grimskull, Danny and Timmy's battle, and Megaville's destruction. Obviously there's plenty else that happened between these events, with Danny and Timmy's battle and Megaville's destruction about ten years apart.

I do apologize if what happened to Sam qualifies as a "Woman in Refrigerator" moment. I actually really like Sam and do think that female characters do tend to get the shaft too often in stories just to prop up the male characters. I put Daniela through the wringer in this story, but at least she's an actual character in the story with her own thoughts and feelings on what's happening being shown. So if anyone is kind of pissed at me for how I may have mistreated Sam's character, trust me, I understand. I dislike DC's _Identity Crisis_ because Sue Dibny has a ton of horrible things happen to her but the reader never sees how she feels about any of it. She's more of a prop to get the story moving than a character in that comic.

This chapter again is one of those times where I'm sad I can't draw well and that this isn't a comic like the actual Grim Tales. The white robe and wooden mage staff Timmy has in the flashbacks and the lightning attack are all actually references to Negi Springfield, the main character of the _Negima! Magister Negi Magi_ manga (I don't like any of its animes), and who through the series becomes a VERY powerful wizard and thus gave me some ideas on how to show off how powerful the God of Magic should become. It's a good series overall, but I think I prefer its sequel series _UQ Holder_ a lot more, mostly because there's a lot less uncomfortable sexual harassment and the smaller cast lets Toga (UQ's main character) have more chemistry with the other characters.

And of course, the clawed glove Boogie cuts Daniela with at one point is a reference to Freddy Kruger, of the _Nightmare on Elm Street_ fame, and the red guy from Mandy's party is, well, the Red Guy from _Cow and Chicken_.

* * *

 **QTP:** How did Timmy find out about what the Observants did to him? If Danny and Timmy's battle happened ten years prior, why wasn't Danny there to save Megaville? What would Sam have thought about Danny wanting to bring her back to life? And what's going to happen to Danny and Daniela now that the Boogieman has broken him?


	23. The Rival's Reminder

**Part 23: The Rival's Reminder**

 **DPSS:** That's exactly what Dan did. It was a couple chapters back (and several months, so I can't be shocked it's not easily remembered), but Dan wanted to celebrate his new freedom by tormenting his old past self, but couldn't find him. From chapter 20: _"One of the first things I did after Clockwork let me out into this new timeline was to try and find you." Dan continued on. "Obviously, I couldn't. But one look around what remained of Amity Park filled in quite a few gaps for me, specifically the old newspapers and hospital records. Why you left. What happened to our family. …What happened to Sam." He smiled on that last bit._

1.) It was only a matter of time, yes, until he met the right people.

2.) Pretty much exactly this. I was worried people might think the story's timeline was way off.

3.) Definitely the methods.

4.) Let's hope so, because this isn't over yet.

 **neverendingZero:** Yeah, QTP mean Questions to Ponder. I believe I got it from AkumaKami64's Grim Tales stories. I liked reading some of the responses he got on his stories and wanted to try it with my own stories. The reasons for Mandy having Timmy's child will definitely be addressed when the two of them eventually meet again, though I don't think anyone will have predicted the real reason by that time. And Minnie is coming, don't worry. Especially when this arc is so close to its finish.

 **Brave2000:** Thank you. I'm hoping to keep it on the rails, too. While the Lich himself is doubtful to pop back up, the scene was to help show more of what Danny and Junior were talking about in chapter 20, where Danny reveals Timmy can absorb magic and Junior points out that not all magic is off the same nature. There's a difference between the pure magic used by fairies for wishes, the divine and chaotic magics once used by Eris, and the black necromancy and death magic used by the Lich. If Timmy has been taking all these different kinds of magics and more into himself, there's no way the conflicting natures can't be having some kind of side effect or toll on him, though that's something that will be gotten into much later in the story, when the God of Magic is more actively involved. As for Timmy's teeth, it's just the start of a small recurring gag, where Timmy can use magic to fix his giant buck teeth and make it all look normal…but it's always only a temporary fix and the giant teeth always eventually come popping back out, usually when Timmy is not concentrating.

 **Major144:** I'm glad you liked the chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up. For now, I'll just say that Clockwork's manipulations and role in this story are not over quite yet, and Daniela's most certainly isn't either.

As for why Danny hasn't taken down HIM after what he did to Megaville, there's a couple different reasons for that, some which will be addressed later in the story. One reason is that, while Warden Walker is the one who is officially recognized by the Elder Council as one of the Big Five lords of the Underworld, Danny's possession of the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage makes him the actually king of the Ghost Zone, and while the other lords wouldn't lose sleep over something terrible happening to HIM, it becomes a very messy situation when the lord of one big Underworld realm goes after another, as seen in the current Grim Tales comic where Mandy and HIM are both being called before the Elder Council for Kare's actions against her. Even if Danny thought he could destroy HIM, all the other Underworld lords would be getting involved in the squabble as well, either to fight against him like Aku would or join his side and manipulate him for their own ends like Mandy would. Danny also considers the God of Magic more of a threat than HIM, and so has made him more of a priority. Though perhaps the biggest reason of all is that HIM has been shown to be very good at getting under people's skins and using their own thoughts and feeling to hurt them, with Blossom, Samurai Jack, and even Junior being the story's examples of this. Danny personally blames himself for Sam's death and for not being there to save Tucker, Dani, and his family, not to mention some of the things he did while working with Timmy. His guilt would make him a very easy target for someone like HIM.

 **Guest:** Well, like Eris said, the alliance of villains already knows about Junior's lust for Mandy and Minnie's feelings for Junior have not exactly been a secret for years, so the God of Magic is certainly going to have a few interesting words to say to his son about his potential love life.

For now I am just trying to focus on getting chapters done for this story since it's been sitting around a while and I'm already a good way into it, so might as well work towards the story's ending. I might try and do a lemon for the oneshot collection, though I did recently come up with an idea for an AU story where Mandy has a giant Earth-based empire that Junior is a general in that maybe I'll do at least the first chapter of to see how much I want to go forward with it.

 **AMTT94:** I'm honestly very flattered by your post. Thank you. While Junior is still the main character, Daniela will still have plenty to do in the story as it goes on, as she also won't be able to get fully away from all the action, or her family.

* * *

 **CHAPTER START**

It was not often you could see someone being too greedy to share with themselves. Selves plural, in this case specifically.

The real Dan, the main body, did not bother to hide amongst his clones. He was right up in Junior's face, and his fists thundering away at Junior's body despite any backlash done by the scorching metal hide.

The bare heat emitting off Junior's body practically melted through each row of seats as Dan's rapid punches circled the two around and around, up the spiraling old amphitheater. Dan's clones basically acted as guards, punching at Junior whenever he got close to make sure that the real Dan didn't accidentally send him flying out of the Observant's old courtroom.

For a full minute, Junior just took the beating, unfazed despite how fast Dan was sending him around the arena. But then, just as Dan's badly burned but healing knuckles would have connected with his head, Junior's helmet opened up with just a thought, sending the ghost's flying fist right into Junior's open mouth.

The Reaper bit down hard, feeling the ghost's bones snapping away between his teeth. He wasn't bothering with trying to eat Dan this time. Junior just needed a strong enough grip to make sure his opponent couldn't dodge him.

Jumping up above Dan with his legs bent far back, Junior kicked down into the ghost's chest; the impact great enough to send a shockwave through the amphitheater as Dan's arm was instantly ripped off and he was sent smashing through the floor. And judging by the sound of his travels through the concrete and then solid rock, Dan hadn't just gone through the building but actually split the floating island the Tribunal Headquarters sat upon right in half.

With the main body hurtling elsewhere through the Ghost Zone and the entire courtroom collapsing around them from his impact, it was the clones' time to play, launching themselves by the tens at Junior. They weren't as tough as the real Dan, but their sheer numbers and the crowns and rings they wore supplying them with just as much extra energy as the main body still made them an annoyance.

Showing off one of the benefits of his makeshift armor, Junior's dropped Dan's arm from his jaws as fire rose up his core. The opening of his helmet working as a funnel, the hellfire blazed out of Junior's mouth in a far more concentrated blast than any of his earlier attacks. It covered a smaller area but it absolutely annihilated every enemy it touched.

The clones were quick to come up with their counter. Splitting apart into more copies to avoid the fireblast and to get closer to Junior, several of the Dans jumped the infernal Reaper. Grabbing a tight hold even when Junior tried to blow them apart, the bodies of the clones lit up with a bright light, sacrificing themselves in a multitude of kamikaze explosions.

The Dans that remained were not stupid enough to think that the tactic was enough to finish off the Reaper. As such their next move was almost immediate, with each one of the floating clones in the crumbing stands unleashing their Ghostly Wails upon the massive cloud of smoke the explosions had created.

It was a sudden flash of orange as Junior leapt out of the smoke, hardly slowed by the sonic attacks as his hands grabbed onto the mouths off two clones, both of whom saw that his armor was barely chipped. Less than a second of their glowing jowls inflating and both clones exploded in a burst of violent flames.

He turned to face the other Dans, having ceased their wails for the moment as the Observant's central monitors all started falling from the ceiling and getting in the way. Junior held his arms back, about to summon forth his scythes again, when his wrists were suddenly grabbed from behind. It was the real Dan this time, his arm regenerated and back from wherever Junior had kicked him. More than ready to return the favor, Dan tore Junior's arms off with one solid motion, grinning like a maniac as he proceeded to start beating on the Reaper with them like a pair of clubs.

As he used the thicker ends to pound Junior into the floor, Dan grimaced as he felt the dismembered limbs grab hold of his own wrists, the intense heat of the metal and flames searing his arms down to the bone. Taking advantage of the distraction, Junior's helmet opened again as he turned to blast Dan point blank, but he was denied as the ghost's clones came down on him from above, dogpiling him through the crumbing floor.

With some considerable effort and a bit of torn flesh, Dan ripped the stubborn hands off his wrists, tossing them down the hole where his clones were duking it out with Junior, with the bright flashes of fire telling him who was likely wining. Not that it mattered much, as Dan was getting sick of this location anyway.

Holding his hands up, a bright green sphere of energy formed above his palms.

"Bigger!"

The ball expanded, now larger than his entire body.

"Bigger!"

Its size increased again, the sphere's top breaking through what was left of the courtroom's ceiling.

"BIGGER!"

The sphere now dwarfed the very building its caster stood inside.

"Perfect." Dan smiled as he let the eclipsing energy ball roll off his hands.

As Junior burned through the skull of another clone, the Reaper then took notice of the green light that was slowly getting much brighter. Turning his head in time to see the sphere enveloping everything in view, Junior felt the remaining Dans grabbing hold of his body, all smiling just as insanely as the main body.

There was a sudden blink of white as the sphere touched upon its target.

And then it exploded, the deafening shockwave heard throughout the entire Ghost Zone as the last remains of the Observants' legacy was obliterated in a geyser of blinding whiteness.

* * *

Less than a mile away, a noble knight had to shield his eyes, his cape of purple flame barely staying lit as the very floating island upon which he stood rocked violently from the power of the Phantom's attack.

"Damn it all. I can't get away from them." The Fright Knight cursed, still blinking the spots out of his eyes. He couldn't see anything left of the High Council's Tribunal Headquarters, but he doubted he was lucky enough for the two to have destroyed each other. "These two monsters keep popping back into the Ghost Zone no matter where I try to take her."

The aforementioned her was Daniela, being carried carefully on the knight's back and worryingly still asleep. The Fright Knight tried to concentrate on where to try running next, when then his attention was brought back to Daniela as she suddenly coughed up blood over his shoulder.

"No! No!" The ghost yelled in a panic as he quickly set the human girl down onto the ground and checked her pulse, thankfully still there but growing weaker. "My liege, you must hurry and wake her." He said despite knowing he couldn't likely be heard, lifting Daniela's head up enough so that she would not choke if blood came up again. "Your injuries are now starting to affect her, and she has plenty of her own wounds threatening her thanks to that brute's possession."

The Fright Knight was almost tempted to overshadow Daniela himself in order to help his former king. But he knew that if he did the unconscious Daniela would be left completely defenseless, and who knows how much more of the realm Junior and Dan would continue to consume in their clash?

Resigning himself to just have faith in his liege, the Fright Knight kept his secure hold on Daniela's body, not yet noticing the faint purple glow that was starting to flare inside the pocket of Daniela's dress, coming from the Amulet of Aragon.

* * *

It was so sudden that it took Daniela's mind quite the long minute to even register that it'd happened. One moment they were in the cemetery, the man who would become the God of Magic offering his hand out to Danny in friendship. The next, they were back in the Amity Park hospital, the sound of Sam Mansion Fenton flatlining ringing in her ears again.

"Wait…what…?" Daniela stuttered slightly as she looked around in confusion, especially as the monitor beside the bed for a second started beeping again, before once more flatlining.

Looking over, she saw the Boogieman, chuckling fiendishly to himself as he snapped his fingers, restarting the scene back to a second before Sam's death, laughing harder when Danny buried his sobbing face into her body.

"What…! What are you doing?!" Daniela screamed, trying to grab at the Boogieman's arm, only for her hand to pass right through him.

"Hm? Oh, right. You're still here." Boogie remarked uncaringly as he snapped his fingers again to restart the tragedy. "Go play, dear girl. You're not needed for this part." He shooed her off.

Daniela tried to attack him again, this time with a freeze blast, but she found herself grabbed again by a familiar large metal hand. Lantern had her arm in his grip again, keeping her still long enough for the Ghost King and the possessed Manny to reappear as well, punching up into her stomach and easily knocking the wind out of her.

Daniela felt like she needed to throw up, with how badly it hurt. But past the pain there was this build of rage she felt surging up in her body as well, as the sound of flatlining filled her ears once more.

"This is actually much more fun than it looks." Boogie commented back to Daniela, carelessly keeping his back to her as he snapped his fingers again. "Watch this. You can actually pinpoint the exact second his heart rips in half!" The demon excitedly pointed out as the last fading blip visibly broke Danny's heart across his face. "You'd think after all the times he's replayed this memory in his head on his own he'd be used to it by now."

She should be scared. Daniela knew that. The dream demon was torturing Danny, without the former Ghost King even realizing it. And since the Boogieman didn't need her anymore outside keeping her from waking up, these three enemies he'd conjured up from her memories were likely about to continue their beating on her from before. The one she was powerless to fight back against.

And yet, overriding all that fear she should be frozen in place by, all Daniela could feel was the same rising surge of anger.

"Let him go!" Daniela yelled at the Boogieman, getting a slap across the face for her troubles by the possessed Manny as Boogie just continued to ignore her. The ceaseless drone of the flatline felt like it was burrowing its way through her ears and into her brain. She had seen this man's life. Felt what he'd been through. Whatever her issues with him had been before, Danny didn't deserve this. "Let him go!"

Still, Boogie paid her no mind, snapping his fingers again. "Bet you'll be very willing to go to whatever memory I point you to after this, just so you can get away from here." Boogie said as he leaned over, chuckling in Danny's ear as the streaming tears burned the man's cheeks.

Daniela really wasn't sure what happened next. She could feel her hot breath becoming shorter through her clenched teeth and Lantern's hold on her somehow becoming looser. But what she missed, as her tunnel vision focused squarely on the Boogieman, was that the three dream enemies were starting to drift back into light blue fog, physically unable to hold her as Daniela's mind started to register their presence less and less. All she could think of was the source of her anger, and as the pupils of her eyes suddenly shifted into long lizard-like slits, Daniela launched herself at her enemy, not a single thought given as to how she could possibly be doing so.

"I said LET HIM GO!" Daniela's demand shifted into an almost literal roar, finally getting the startled Boogieman's attention.

"Wha-!" Boogie had started to say, turning away from the widowed Danny, when Daniela's phasing hand suddenly went through his head.

Whether it was as a result of the strange purple-tinted power that drove Daniela or simply the dream demon being caught so off-guard, something happened that should not have, and after tumbling between the flashes of lightning in a mad vortex of chaos, Daniela abruptly found herself standing inside a large padded room.

The shock of landing in her sudden location had eased Daniela's rage somewhat, the girl not even realizing her eyes had returned to normal as she looked around the decrepit and almost rotting prison cell, as she gathered from the bars on the thin window at the room's very top.

"Where…where am I? What is this place?" Daniela asked aloud. It was so dark that she could barely make out anything other than the four walls, but she was certain this was not a place she'd ever seen before. Quite the change from everything else the Boogieman had taken from her memory to throw back at her.

Daniela was then given a powerful start as something slammed into the wall of the next room over before laughing like a true maniac. Now that she listened for it, Daniela could hear multiple different voices all engaged in mad laughter throughout the floors of whatever building she was in. But even more vocal were the screams, and the endless ramblings of pure utter nonsense that just seemed to echo through all the pipes in the walls.

That was when she put it together. This wasn't just a prison. This was an asylum, one for the horribly insane.

The realization of that thought nearly caused her a great deal of terror, as Daniela's eyes finally adjusted enough to the dark to see that there was indeed someone else in the cell with her.

But soon she realized that the inmate was not aware of her, as the man in the tightly bound straightjacket laid on his side, facing against the wall as he was engaged in his own sputters of barely coherent mumbling.

"Talking…skull…! Hand…very scary! Not scary… Oven…on. Where's the Boogieman? Talking…skeleton…! I need…hand…! Not scary… Not scary…" He said into the pads as he rocked himself against the wall, wincing visibly at every new scream or creak that came into his cell.

Thinking it might be some kind of trick, Daniela did not try to get closer to see if she could help the man, though she did move along the cell's wall in order to try and get a better look at him. But then…

"Jeez…you think you can't go any lower in the Underworld, then they toss you away in a hole and forget about you." An amused voice came in clearly from nowhere, causing Daniela and the inmate to give a jump, the frightful man even more so, immediately sitting up and looking around in a panic. This revealed, very much to Daniela's shock, that the man in the straightjacket was the Boogieman himself, though without any eyepatch covering his left side.

"Who…! Who's there?!" Boogie called out to the shadows, seeming so much more frail and timid than the demon who'd spent the last hour toying with her.

The unknown voice answered him back. "No one you know, yet. Though that doesn't help you much, does it? There's not a lot in that mind of yours that you do know, is there? I suppose that's what happens when you can't remember anything. You forget what to be afraid of and now you're afraid of everything."

Boogie trembled as he looked all around his padded cell, still unable to see anyone, not even Daniela it would seem. "Do you…know me? From before I was…here?" He asked, his head hurting as he couldn't remember anything but brief flashes from a life before these four walls.

"I know of you. And that's why I'm here. Turns out, you and I have some interesting things in common." The voice told him. "You see, I've had my mind taken too. Not by the same people who took yours, mind you, though I do have my own axe to grind with them as well, and thus my reason for being here."

"Who took my mind… Grim…" Boogie said hushly, he's still wide in fear before they slowly started to furl in a sudden realization. He shouldn't know that name. "Grim… He's the one who did this to me." He uttered as he felt the rage building up in his throat, the image of that long skull face having haunted his own dreams for nights on end, but never able to put a name to it until now.

"One too many hits to the noggin and having to deal with the traumatic truth that you're genuinely kind of pathetic. It'd be enough to give anyone some blissful amnesia." The voice continued. "Thankfully, while my attempts to bring back my own memory have been fruitless, this kind of recovery is child's play."

Boogie's head hurt as everything was slowly starting to come back to him. Horror's Hand. The race. Grim. Those two damn kids of his and their little wiener friend.

All the laughing.

"You're…healing my mind? Why?" Boogie asked the disembodied voice, almost seeming aware of how his cell looked for the first time since he'd arrived.

"Because I want to help you, my friend. You'd forgotten who you were. And now?"

Boogie held his pounding head, his name almost shooting out to him through the fading cracks in his memory. "I…I am the Boogieman!" He declared proudly as he stood up to his feet, wobbling slightly as his arms were still bound by the straightjacket. "Terror to the dreams of all children! The blue devil who goes bump in the night! The scariest face to ever haunt the nightmares of all…of all…" Boogie then started to trail off, the sound of all that laughter back in the Isle of Peril. By Grim, those children, even his own crew. It was easily enough to crush he reawakened spirits. "But I'm…not scary, am I?" Boogie said dejectedly as he sunk back down to his knees.

"No, you're not." The voice told him bluntly. "But with my help, you can be, if that's your greatest wish." He then added, getting the intrigued Boogie to look back up. "You want revenge on the man who put you in here, don't you? Well, I want revenge on his wife, for what she stole from me. You remember her, the little blonde girl who literally owned his ass."

"Mandy? Grim married Mandy? Ugh." Boogie made a face in disgust at the idea.

"Indeed." The voice chuckled before going on. "I want to take away everything that woman has. Everything her husband has too. And if you help me, then I will grant you your hearts greatest desire. I will make you into something the entire Underworld will know to be afraid of. Even the mighty Grim Reaper will cover before your name."

Every moment he'd known Grim, from back in middle school to his last moments with Horror's Hand, flashed through Boogie's mind, his teeth grinding against each other in his scowl.

"Who are you?" Boogie finally asked up to the ceiling, his answer to the offer written plain as day across the demon's face.

"Me?" The voice asked in response. "Like I said, Boogie, I'm your friend. And trust me…"

The ground under Daniela's feet started to rattle, causing the teen to quickly float up, before the entire room suddenly blew wide open. And not just Boogie's room, but the entire building and every room within its former structure as well. Not taken apart by an explosion. All the asylum's materials simply came undone. Brick, mortar, and iron rebar floated stilly in the air, large spaces between each like they were pieces of a grand puzzle just waiting to be put back together. The other inmates of various fiendish and demonic qualities also hung in the air, the insane monsters spinning in place and probably not able to tell this event apart from any other day of their mad lives.

And in the center of all was a man. The same man who had come to Danny as he mourned his wife in the cemetery. His robe traded in for a long white leather jacket and a pair of dark shades, but it was most definitely him, now able to float like the divine before the kneeling in awe Boogieman, without the aid of his staff.

"You ain't never had a friend like me." The wickedly smiling God of Magic assured the demon.

Daniela then felt a second sudden rumble. But given that neither the mage or the Boogieman showed any reaction to it, the quake was not part of the memory.

"NO!" The real Boogie's voice screamed at her in unsettled rage, a mountain range's worth of giant spiked teeth breaking down through the red Underworld sky. "THIS MEMORY IS NOT FOR YOU!"

Reacting purely in panic, Daniela blasted up fearfully at the descending teeth with as much cold as she could force out. When the rapidly frozen fangs came crashing down upon her, the impact made the brittle structures shatter.

* * *

Daniela's screams as she bolted upright caused the Fright Knight to topple over in sudden shock. Even the whites of her eyes flashed completely green before Danny suddenly came shooting out of her body, the floating island's dirt only slightly easing his abrupt landing.

"My liege!" The Fright Knight called out as he rushed over to Danny, relieved to see that the ghost was still breathing, though only barely. The sizable hole that'd been blown through his chest by Dan was still there and bleeding out badly.

Daniela's own breath was short and very rapid, the girl turning her head in every direction to see where she was, and the continuous pain her body felt informing her that she was finally awake.

Upon seeing the Fright Knight quickly trying to tend to Danny's wounds, Daniela tried to ask if the former Ghost King was going to be able to make it, when the sudden choke in her throat cut off her words. Barely able to breathe, Daniela started coughing hoarsely before ending up vomiting up a large cloud of blue fog that could not be mistaken for her Ghost Sense.

Shedding a few small tears from the pain of her coughs, Daniela watched as the cloud started to float away, with the now very well remembered outline of the Boogieman's head within it.

"Hey! Stop right there!" Daniela yelled after the fog, switching into her ghost form and throwing her hand forward to toss an ecto-blast. But before the power could be built up, the intense stinging forced her to stop, Daniela looking down and seeing the horribly tattered and bloody shape her arms had been left in thanks to Dan's overuse.

With nothing more she could do and the Fright Knight more concerned with Danny at the moment, Daniela had no choice but to let the Boogieman go.

"…Your little surprises won't help you escape next time." Boogie muttered under his breath as he made his way away from the island. Checking his watch, still keeping perfect time despite being fog like the rest of his body, Boogie relented his anger with a sigh. "Just as well. Time for me to go and join the real party."

As she watched the cloud drift off into the Ghost Zone's void until it was out of sight, Daniela's attention was regained as the Fright Knight stood up. "I don't want to risk moving the king, but we may have no choice. We are too close to ground zero." He said to her, pointing off in the distance where's the Observants' headquarters used to be.

Turning to see it, somehow, she didn't need the knight to tell her anything further. She just knew that that's where Junior was.

* * *

Dan's feet touched down upon the wide stretch of scorched rock; the only bit of the Observants' large island to have escaped the explosion. Naturally, if there was any place Junior would start to reform, it'd be here.

Looking around fruitlessly on the barren stretch of land, Dan's pointed ears perked as he heard a small scrape against the dirt.

Turning around just in time, Dan threw his arm up to defend himself and got Junior digging his burning teeth into his forearm, just the skull to be seen and nothing else of his body around.

Dan almost smiled at the ineffective tactic, before feeling a sharp pain in his side. Looking down, one of Junior's ribs had appeared from nowhere and stabbed him near the stomach. With his free hand Dan reached to pull it out but was denied by something small and fast cutting across his arm, nearly getting down to the bone as its path sprayed the ghost's blood everywhere.

Then more of the small objects came, slicing across Dan's chest before he could even see them. The injuries healed almost as quickly as they were created, but Dan's eyes flared with pain and his teeth grimaced as two more bones suddenly jabbed themselves into his back from behind.

He heard them coming just seconds before they arrived. All those little bits of bone scurrying across the jagged terrain. Dan blasted at them with a blaze from his hand but they surrounded him from all sides. The ones he was unable to get in time stabbed at his back and legs, while the ones he'd fried started to piece themselves back together from the dust Dan made of them.

To make things worse, more of the unknown objects kept cutting at his body as he passed, with there seeming to be more of them every second. Finally managing to grab one out of the air before it could get away, Dan winced heavily as it burned into his hand, discovering it to be a metal piece of Junior's former armor.

" _He was thinking that far ahead?!"_ Dan's thoughts raised up in alarm, realizing he'd fallen right into Junior's trap.

Like hundreds of flaming arrowheads, Junior's rushing bones continued to shoot themselves into Dan's body. For each rib the ghost managed to rip out, at least ten of the Reaper's other body parts flew in to skewer him instead.

And then came the shrapnel. Each piece of hot metal cutting away rapidly at whatever parts of his body the bones left exposed; the thousands of tiny shards twisting their paths around him in a tornado of motion like hot knives.

Feeling the crunch of Junior's teeth even further into his arm, that was all the warning Dan was given before the hellfire that covered the skull suddenly exploded in ferocity. Dan yelled out in agony, the flames' destruction massively taxing his arm's ability to heal, and that wasn't the least of his problems.

The rest of Junior's bones were starting to move, trying to rejoin the skull to reform the body. And if Dan had any doubt as to whether Junior could control their path, as the burning bones started cutting their cauterized path through his chest and limbs, they started circling around his body instead of just going directly to the skull.

The world became a blur of searing red and orange, the bones joining the shrapnel in endless bombardment, circling around Dan's body faster and faster as they cut through him, their paths twisting the fire along with them until Dan was trapped screaming inside a rapid, inescapable vortex of razor hellfire that stretched to the sky.

When the screaming died down, so too did the flames, revealing Junior, standing alone inside the circle of glass his heat had created out of the previously rocky ground. When the last of his bones clicked back into place, Nergaling flesh oozed out of their marrow, coating the burning skeleton before solidifying into a new hooded jack and black pair of pants.

For a second, the red-eyed Reaper almost had a chance to breathe.

A powerful ecto-blast then shot out from the inside of Junior's chest.

Seemingly taking the pieces of themselves out of the smoke and steam that exited the hole the blast created, the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage reformed themselves, Dan's head and hand being the first of his body that they brought back with them.

Curiously, Junior did not attack the regenerating Dan, taking the moment inside to heal up his own wounds.

When his lungs reappeared along with the rest of his torso, Dan took in a sharp gasp for air as he nearly fell to his knee, almost still able to feel the demonic fire burning away at him. Even he was amazed that the king's symbols had been able to piece him together after that.

Feeling the energy of the Ghost Zone itself refueling his muscles, Dan was good as new and ready for another round.

But…

That last attack from Junior…it'd exposed the truth of their battle, something Dan had been suspecting, but now knew for certain. The truth that completely soured this long-awaited fight.

"Why…?" Dan uttered through gritted teeth as he clenched his fist, so angry he could hardly even look at the Reaper. "WHY ARE YOU STILL HOLDING BACK?!" He screamed, the sheer power of his voice enough to ripple the air past still-faced Junior and toss up the dust behind him.

When Junior didn't say anything back, Dan only got angrier.

"You think I can't tell?! Everything I've thrown at you, you've been able beat back, but you're not getting stronger! That attack you just used would have finished me off earlier when I was still adjusting to the Ghost King's power! You only used it now because you knew it wouldn't kill me! And there's still more you're holding back, isn't there?!"

Still, Junior didn't say anything.

"I've dragged you through half of history and left your sister and my past self for dead and you still won't go all out! What does it take, huh?!"

Finally, after a minute, Junior spoke. **"Dan…just fight…or leave."**

Those words nearly got Dan to throw his next punch right then and there. But before his rage flared up beyond his control, Dan noticed Junior's single right eye, still red like it usually became whenever he lost control, but there was something different about it this time. There was a sadness behind where all that rage had been. A feeling of emptiness that seemed so familiar to Dan.

And then, everything finally clicked inside Dan's brain.

"…The Devil's Essence." Dan spoke, getting Junior's head to perk slightly in attention at the ghost's more somber tone. "That's what you called it, right? That's what this whole thing is about, isn't it?" He asked, feeling like he already knew the answer. "When you told me about it before, how it made you not care who you hurt the more you gave into it, suddenly a lot of things started to make sense. Why you were staying away from your family. Why you hung around me so much. You didn't have to care if you ended up hurting me. Hell, you'd maybe think I'd even deserve it. I was someone you didn't have to worry about losing control against. …But it's the opposite of that, is it?"

At Dan's question, Junior didn't respond.

"You didn't hang around me because you didn't have to worry about losing control. You did it because I actually helped to keep you in control." Dan continued, his teeth gritting slightly against each other as he spoke. "I was never your rival. Never your friend. Not even something for you to help sharpen your sword against. I was a reminder. A living representation of everything you were afraid you might become if you gave into the Red. A monster, and nothing more."

For the longest few seconds that followed, there as silence, the only sounds made being the flickers of flame.

"… **Just fight or run, Dan."** Junior grumbled, he too seeming to have lost his taste for this battle.

Dan felt his fist curling up at his side, the gesture now feeling so empty.

"…You know this can't just end anymore, right, Junior?" Dan told him. "No matter what happens, only one of us is coming away from this fight."

" **You can't beat me, Dan."** Junior said, shaking his head, almost like he was asking him to reconsider.

Dan was silent for a minute, before his legs bent and he prepared to change. "I don't care."

Like a shot the ghost was gone, leaving behind a booming vacuum of air where he'd stood. Dan closed the distance between the two in an instant and now Junior's body braced as he was attacked from all sides, almost at the same time. Dan was moving faster than he ever had, just a blinding green line barely visible to anyone else, striking wildly at whatever part of Junior's body his path took him. The only sound heard other than his thundering blow being his own determined war cry.

Dan's path was then stopped as he felt the bone fist suddenly smash into his stomach, forcing him to spit up an obscene amount of blood before the impact knocked him far back the way he came. Dan's grab upon the ground slowed his momentum enough to eventually stop, after carving his long path through the rocks. And as soon as he got back to his feet, Dan barely had any time to see Junior summon the weapons from the flames of his pointing arm before he was suddenly impaled at multiple points by several long metal spears, nailing him to the ground through his chest, shoulders, feet, and even head.

He could feel the hot metal poles cauterizing themselves inside his flesh to keep him held down. But Dan barely even gave it any thought. Junior had knocked him back so easily. He wasn't even allowing the ghost the delusion that he had a chance anymore. But that only fueled further Dan's desire to win, and as his outpouring energy started to crack the spears, all Dan could think of was ending this fight with everything he had.

The spears exploded into shrapnel off his body. "I WILL DEFEAT YOU!" Dan declared in a roar from the sky as his own energy blazed off his body in a display unlike anything he'd summoned before. Thick streams of lightning erupted continuously off Dan's body, crackling past Junior and off the very ecto-fueled walls of the Ghost Zone itself. The rocks and even the air started to glow and melt away like molten lava as Dan's power wrapped the very world around him.

* * *

Off where Daniela and others cowered, the entire island that'd been their refuge had begun to violently shake and rock on its axis.

"What's happening?!" Daniela screamed, barely able to keep hold of the ground to prevent herself from being thrown off the toppling landmass.

"The island is being pulled in!" The Fright Knight answered, one hand holding the sword he struck into the ground for support while the other held onto Danny. "Everything nearby is! The ghost's energy is bending the space across the entire Ghost Zone!"

As he watched trees uproot and other islands split apart as they went flying towards the battle, the wounded Danny had never felt so powerless. _"Damnit, Dan. You'd really do it, wouldn't you?! You'd risk destroying everything just to win this fight!"_ He cursed as the multiple lightning streams blasted away at their island from the closing distance.

* * *

As the violent power felt like it turned the world around him into the surface of the sun, blasting his flames and his jacket back just with its sheer atmosphere, Junior still stayed standing where he was. Unmoving and staring up unblinkingly into the increasingly brighter eye of the storm that was Dan.

"EVERYTHING I'VE GOT, AND EVERYTHING THIS REALM CAN GIVE, INTO ONE FINAL BLAST TO DECIDE IT ALL!" Dan yelled, his entire body flaring with bright white light from his own output. "YOU DON'T WANT TO LIVE ON AS A MONSTER, JUNIOR?! FINE! HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO DIE!" Dan called out him as he finally threw his hands forward, giving all that energy its direction to shoot out at once.

The gigantic blast seemed to muffle to world around it, like the only thing that could possibly exist in this universe was it. It was bigger than the death ball Dan had sent at him earlier, bigger than the island, and with its continuous stream from his body, its impact was going to be far more devastating. Nothing could be hit by it and expect to have anything left.

For a second, Junior considered what Dan had said.

But then he felt it flare back up, the Red in his eye, stronger than he'd ever felt his own desire to win rise up before.

On his right arm, the flames of the Ghost Rider's power suddenly faded out. They were soon replaced as black Nergaling flesh stretched out to cover and reclaim the bones. But seconds later and the black began to quickly change, taking on a far more dark red hue as his hand clenched into a fist.

" **Fine. No holding back."** Junior declared simply as he threw his punch forward at the arriving blast.

It was like the roar of dragons when the two impacted. But not one of equals.

Upon the strike of Junior's knuckles, the pushback was instant and the ecto-blast caved back in upon itself. Energy shot out past both sides of Junior's fist, the pinpoint sending whatever energy was not immediately dispersed flying around Junior's body as the massive opening burst apart the stream.

A wall of dense, mountainous air was what struck Dan first, having easily powered its way through his blast. The Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage exploded from his body, atomized by the sheer force of the impact.

And then the rest of the smash struck him, tearing through Dan's body like glass as it divided the thick ectoplasmic Ghost Zone sky behind him.

* * *

… **Walker's Prison…**

"What-" Walker said.

* * *

… **The Fields of Heaven…**

"-the-" Dee Dee said.

* * *

… **Aku City…**

"-hell-" Chi said.

* * *

… **The Nightosphere…**

"-was-" Hunson Abadeer said.

* * *

… **Hel…**

"-that-" Hela said.

* * *

 **...Castle Grimskull…**

"-noise?" Grim said.

* * *

… **The Land of Tainted Souls…**

As the volcanic landscape slowly ceased their rumbles, HIM just continued to smirk, watching as the black timer in his claw inched closer to zero.

* * *

… **The Ghost Zone…**

Daniela had to snap her fingers in her ears to make sure she hadn't gone deaf. After that sudden clash, where the entire world felt like it'd been about to topple over on them all, the silence that followed seemed almost unnatural.

Not even yet able to wobble to her feet, her mind apparently having trouble believing she was still alive, Daniela felt a little better seeing that the Fright Knight was in a similar fallen and stunned position.

But then, to the shock of them both, it was Danny who was the first to quickly get back up, his arms doing their best to cover the hole still in his chest, clearly not having healed in the slightest.

"My liege! Your injuries!" The Fright Knight cried out to the ghost, his loyalty sparking him enough to get him to tumble his way to his feet. "You must lay back down! You could-!"

"No!" Danny stopped the knight in his tracks with that single word. "I have to make sure…" He said weakly as he stared forward at the now much closer former battlefield. "…I have to make sure this is really over."

Every part of the Fright Knight looked as though he wanted to push Danny back down and keep him there. But with the desperate tone in the former king's voice, he couldn't bring himself to do so. And oddly enough, neither could Daniela, as she found herself slowly getting back up as getting to Danny's opposite side.

"We'll fly you over." She told him, taking a gentle hold of Danny's shoulder and waist, the Fright Knight following her lead and doing the same. After a small moment of surprise, Danny nodded his head to her in gratitude.

* * *

The smoke and dust slowly cleared away as small bits of debris clacked against each other before finally coming to rest. The burning Demon Reaper was the most immediate thing to come back into view, clutching his red arm at the shoulder like he was in pain despite no apparent injury.

Dan Phantom was in quite the opposite shape, as the drifting smoke revealed.

He was down on both knees, arms that would have fallen at his sides having long been torn away. But this position was pure happenstance. It was clear that if even a small breeze were to touch him the once mighty warrior would crumble.

Gone was his costume and any form of muscle, the ghost looking far more like a ghoul with his paper skin barely holding his bones together beneath. At first Junior thought it might have just been the shadow cast by his tilted head, as the white flames of his hair had gone out, but no. The darkness across Dan's sunken brow… The ghost's eyes were completely gone.

"Geez…what does it take to kill me, right…?" Dan asked with a weak, raspy chuckle, his situation obvious to the both of them. He couldn't move, and even if he still had the symbols of the king, his injuries were beyond what could be healed now.

Not concerning himself with Dan at the moment, Junior grimaced heavily as he used his greatest push of will to force his suborn red arm to burst back into flames again, almost seeming to feel great relief as the fire burned the Nergaling flesh away.

Dan couldn't see this, but his instincts were still sharp enough to feel Junior's spirit. This battle really was over.

"You're still not going to do it…" Dan spoke, sounding so uncharacteristically somber for the usually pompous phantom. "Even after all I've done…to you, to my daughter…you're still not going to kill me…"

Junior was silent for a moment. **"…Neither of us have to be monsters, Dan."**

For second, it looked like Junior wanted to extend out his hand to his beaten opponent. But even if he had, Dan's words would have made his refusal quite clear.

"You're only fooling yourself, Junior." Dan stated as simple fact. "We've never had to be anything."

Dan's words hung in the air between the two men, the long choking silence only being broken by the sudden arrival of the three other ghosts.

"Brother!" Daniela called out to him as they landed to get his attention. When he shifted his head over slightly to see her, that was when Daniela realized the form he was in. _"Wait…this fire…have I seen it before?"_ She thought to herself, the memory of the tall burning skeleton walking from her unconscious twin over to her on that battlefield coming back to her. Slightly overtaken by her feelings of fear from that moment, Daniela quickly shook it off. No way was she in danger of Junior, no matter what he looked like, right?

The Fright Knight helped steady Danny as the former king looked upon the beaten Dan. "You actually did it, Junior." He said to the Demon Reaper, sounding oddly sorrowful about that fact. "Even the crown and the ring couldn't give enough power to beat you."

"That you, Danny?" Dan called out to his former past self, unable to move even his head to look away from the ground at the newly arrived group. "Isn't this appropriate? In the next couple of minutes, we'll go from two Danny Phantoms to none." He said, Danny noticing only the faintest hint of humor in his voice. "Maybe Junior will believe me if you're the one who agrees." He added, much to Danny's puzzlement.

"Agree with what?" Danny asked, still holding in his wounds.

Dan didn't reply back to Danny quite yet. "Junior." He said, having never lost the Reaper's focus. "This…Devil's Essence… It sounds like what it's putting you though…is a lot like what I went through when I fused with Vlad's ghost half. …I know how it feels, to have all that sudden power and have it bring out the worst parts of yourself. For a while…that's why I thought I was the way I was…that his evil overwhelmed me…

"But I was only kidding myself, like you are, Junior. I didn't want to face what I really was, until the day came and I had no choice but to realize…I always had a choice, and I made it." He said, Danny looking down to the ground as he remembered Clockwork's words to him on that same subject, on the day he and Dan's paths split from each other. "Junior…the kind of monster you're afraid of becoming? It'll only happen if that's what you want to become. …That's why you're so afraid."

Junior and Danny could see the bits of remaining skin starting to slowly flake off Dan's dying body. He couldn't have more than just a few minutes at most.

"I was hurt, and so I became something that could destroy everything that could ever hurt me again. If nothing else, we have that in common, Junior." Dan told him. "…I really wish…we'd actually been friends…"

"Dan…I-!" Danny started to say before the rush of blood up his throat cut him off, his heart squeezing with such intense pain as he collapsed. He was out of time.

"My liege!" The Fright Knight yelled in fear, catching the ghost just before he would have struck the ground.

"Danny!" Daniela knelt down to help him as the knight laid him gently against the rocky floor.

To the horror of them both, the white halos appeared around Danny's body, changing him back into a human as they passed over him and causing the blood to only flow more from his chest. He wasn't strong enough to even hold his ghost form anymore.

"Is…is there any place we can take him?!" Daniela asked the Fright Knight in a panic as he tried to keep pressure on the wound, to little success. "Anywhere he can be healed or…or…"

With great sadness, the Fright Knight shook his head, making sure his helmet didn't reveal too much of his breaking face.

"But…but… There has to be something we can do!" Daniela yelled, her mind desperately racing for any idea to help. "Is there anything left of the crown? Or Junior! He could…maybe there's some Reaper thing he could do to…to…"

"No." Danny finally spoke, his weak hand gently touching the girl's arm to get her attention. "It's alright, Daniela. It's my time…"

"No! No, it's not alright!" Daniela yelled at him. "I saw what happened to your wife! Isn't that what you told your friends on the hill? That you were going to bring her back!"

"He's gone, Daniela." Dan said to her from where he knelt. "Let him go in peace."

"You shut up!" Daniela turned to scream at him. "Do you have any idea what you've put him through?! What you put me through?! And you dare call yourself my father?! You, who used and abused my body solely for your own selfish gain and left me to be tortured by a sadistic demon! Do you have any idea what I've lost because of how the Boogieman toyed with me?! Giving me everything I'd ever wanted and then ripping it all away with a laugh! Do you have any idea what it feels like to lose everything you care about?"

"Yes." Dan said simply, but with no pity for himself. "Danny and I both do."

"Then all you've done is prove that you are not half the man he is! I was in his memories!" Daniela screamed shrilly at him, the bitter tears flowing down her inflamed, angry cheeks. "I saw how far he'd fallen, and unlike you he tried to pick himself back up! All the power he gained, all the people he's fought, he did it because he wanted to make the world better! All you cared about was destruction!"

"I did what I did because I wanted my wife back…" Danny said to Daniela, getting her to look back down at him. "That's hardly…hardly a selfless motivation." He coughed.

"You have more to live for!" Daniela told him, holding his hand to get his conscious to try and stay there with her. "My family, we can help you see her again! And my brother, Manny, you still haven't met him! It's just…it's not fair!"

"You hardly know me…" Danny pointed out to her.

"I know! And I don't know why I'm acting like this, but I…!" Daniela said as the wetness from her eyes started to fall in droplets on Danny's body. "I just…I feel like there was more I was supposed to do with you! You've had to suffer through so much. You've lost so many people. And when I heard that you and Sam were…were going to have a girl I just felt… I felt like I was supposed to meet you. That something… Something more was going to come from all this and I wouldn't feel so…so…"

Lifting his hand up with some considerable effort, Danny gently brushed a few strands of Daniela's hair out of her stinging eyes. "I am not your father, Daniela." He told her, but with a soft comforted smile by her presence and her hand in his. "I wasn't that lucky.

"Junior." Danny used his last few breaths to call out for the burning Reaper. "Before…I thought that maybe I could beat Tim. But the God of Magic…no…I wouldn't have a chance. Dan was stronger than me and you stopped him outright. And what Tim has become…" Danny turned his head best he could to look right at the skeleton. "Junior…you don't have a chance either. And if you meet him, your life…your world…he'll destroy it all beyond repair. Just keep running, and don't look back…"

Daniela could feel Danny's hand slowly slipping out of her hand.

"I'm…sorry. I…failed Tim. Failed…Sam and Tucker… Everyone…" His words came out in the exhale of his final breath. "I'm sorry…"

His hand slipped away, back down onto his chest, and Danny's eyes finished closing.

Silence finally fell. The choke in Daniela's throat making the moment last far too long.

Everything before Daniela's eyes was like a blur. Through her gritted teeth her breath became short and rigid. Within her pocket, the Amulet of Aragon glowed powerfully. Like in the dream world, her eyes shifted to slits, and the next thing Daniela knew, she'd thrown herself over the short distance at Dan, wrapping her hands around his withered throat.

"DIE!" She screamed as the ecto-energy pushed its way through her injured arms. She moved too fast for any of the stunned onlookers to stop her before Daniela's blast burst forth, taking Dan's head clean off.

Nothing to be seen above his neck other than a plume of smoke, Dan's body toppled over, the mere light impact against the ground being enough for the brittle form to start cracking away into dust.

Daniela's breath stayed fast, but as the adrenaline slowly started to fade along with her dragonic eyes, and her body calmed, Daniela was left to look down at her shaking hands, covered in her father's green blood.

As his sister sank to her knees, the shock of what she'd just done slowly sinking in, Junior's own eye lost its red color as it looked upon her. The flames of his body died down, allowing for the black Nergaling flesh to return from his core.

His body returned to its normal state, Junior walked over and placed a gentle hand on Daniela's shoulder. Turning her to face him, there were visible tears flowing down her still stunned face.

"He… He deserved it…right?" She asked him, her voice slightly choking as it begged for him to say yes.

"Yes." Junior said it, without hesitation.

Her eyes struggling to hold back more of her cries, even with her brother's reassurance, Daniela suddenly found her face being buried into Junior's chest as he pulled her in for a hug.

With her eyes hidden in the blackness of his jacket, Daniela did not have show the world her shame and her final bit of resolve was allowed to break.

"It's okay." Junior assured soothingly, rubbing his sister's back as he felt her face sobbing against his chest, the close hug helping muffle her cries. "It's okay." He said, only the Fright Knight being left to see the look of guilt on the Reaper's face.

* * *

"Are you certain you do not wish for me to come with you?" The Fright Knight asked Junior, enough time having passed since the Reaper's fight with Dan for the cracks in the Ghost Zone to settle for safe travel. "As you might imagine, I'm very much in the mood to avenge my king."

Carefully, Junior hoisted the now unconscious Daniela up onto his back, his arms keeping her legs secure at his sides while her own hung over his shoulders. "Go ahead and bury your boss." Junior told him in polite refusal. "There's still more I need to find out about the God of Magic and everything else we're dealing with. Once I'm ready to make some sort of move against them, I'll call on you."

"You may consider me your ally then, Grim Jr." The Fright Knight declared with a nod, before looking over to Daniela. "Are you certain it is wise to put her to sleep right now? The Boogieman escaped us and may come back to finish the job."

Junior turned his head to see Daniela's behind him, it bringing him a small bit of comfort that her breathing was normal. "I'm not very gifted with magic, but I put a lot of effort into learning this minor sleep spell. It lets you sleep without dreaming, though it gets less effective the more you use it, as I've found out." He explained to the ghost.

"I'm admittedly curious why you know such an oddly specific spell." The Fright Knight remarked, though Junior said nothing back to it. When the Reaper turned away, sprouting red feathered wings at his sides where Daniela's body would not get in their way, the Fright Knight asked "Where will you be taking her?"

Junior thought on the question for a minute, wondering whether it'd be wise to give the ghost the full answer. "To the one person in the realms I know can keep her safe." Junior told him, the Fright Knight apparently accepting that the Reaper didn't fully trust him yet, at least when it came to his sister. "If you learn anything, contact Grimskull. Tell them I vouch for you."

Giving a nod and a final stiff salute, the Fright Knight watched as Junior took off into the green sky with the beat of large wings.

* * *

Danny had felt cold before. When his ice powers had first started coming in, it was the most intense, crippling cold he'd ever felt. But the cold he felt now? It was different. It wasn't like a cutting breeze or anything working up from his core. It was cold like an absence of anything warm, even his own body, which he was no longer sure he even had. Everything around him was just endless black.

Except for at one point. A small point of light off in the distance that was slowly getting closer, moving towards him. Or maybe he was moving towards it?

When the light started to hit him, Danny started to feel warm again. A happy warmth, for lack of a better description. A familiar sensation filling his chest in a way he'd not felt in a long time.

Within the blinding descending light, Danny could finally make out the silhouette of a figure standing within its shine.

" _It's okay, Danny. You can finally rest."_ The woman's voice said into his mind. A voice Danny instantly recognized. _"We're all waiting for you."_ She told him, her voice an odd mixture of sadness and relief. She was sad because he'd died in such a way. But now she got to be with him again.

"Sam…" Danny felt his face brighten as his face flowed happy tears, his hand reaching up towards the light as she reached down to him. It was finally over.

All the warmth sudden left Danny as his chest exploded with sharp, intense pain. Pulled instantly away light at the end of the tunnel, Danny found himself almost slamming back into his body, the Ghost Zone becoming his surroundings once again.

A few feet away from him, the Fright Knight's body laid with a bloody gash across his chest, his sword fallen beside his motionless hand.

Within Danny's own chest was a long, serrated scythe blade, its staff held by the being who had pulled him back.

"So sorry, Mr. Fenton." Morg told him, the Martian Grim Reaper wagging his finger mockingly in the horrified ghost's face. "But I'm afraid this world isn't quite done with you yet."

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** ONE PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNCH!

But in all honestly, Junior and Dan's fight, at least in how I visualized the two clashing against each other, took a lot of inspiration from the Saitama vs. Boros fight from _One Punch Man_ , even before the big final blow. Remember, it's not a rip-off if it's an homage (which I'm saying so I don't get sued).

And with that, the Ghost King/Junior vs. Dan arc finally comes to a close (after months of delays, sorry). Hopefully with my new schedule the chapters will continue being uploaded faster and thus the next arc of the story will not take months to be finished, especially since the next arc is pretty significant. Regardless, see you then.

And boy, Danny just can't catch a break, can he?

* * *

 **QTP:** Why did the Boogieman freak out so much when Daniela saw his memory? Why did Junior banish the flames of his arm before he threw his final punch? How will the Amulet of Aragon continue to effect Daniela? Where is Junior taking Daniela where he thinks she'll be safe? And what's going to happen to Danny?


	24. Running Late

**Part 24: Running Late**

 **DPSS:** _"The only ones that really got anything positive out of this outcome were the bad guys."_ Yeah, I'd say that sums up this section of the story pretty well so far. Hero's journey is very rarely a happy one and it's doubtful to let up anytime soon.

1.) If he's not scary than he's powerless, is actually a very great way of describing the Boogieman, especially from what we saw of him in the original show where he just got less intimidating and more pathetic with every appearance.

2.) Bingo.

3.) Probably something dragonic, though since the amulet was in Daniela's pocket, Junior may simply think that his sister acted purely out of her own anger.

4.) Yeah, but he doesn't know that. Even Daniela just thinks she opened up her portal to the wrong location.

5.) This chapter will probably answer your question.

 **Valtek:** Well, it's not like I've never thought about the Manny X Daniela pairing. I don't know if that idea would ever be put into place in this story, since there'd be very little set-up for it at the moment, but I'm sure it'd see the light of day in the oneshot collection some day at least.

1.) The worst part is that he could actually have asked the God of Magic for something like that.

2.) Actually, it's quite the opposite. Junior wasn't lying when he finally said he wasn't going to hold back.

3.) Following the trope, yes.

4.) Sadly, not yet.

5.) That's more HIM's thing than the God of Magic's. Everyone's got to have their own style.

 **nightmaster000:** Thank you for posting reviews for both chapters. I like hearing what everyone has to say about any of my writings. As for the power vacuum, it's actually not as bad as it seems, though the rumbles from Junior and Dan's fight will need a little bit to settle. The Ghost King is the true ruler of the Ghost Zone, but Pariah Dark was locked away for centuries and Danny never made it publicly known that he claimed the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage. So the Ghost Zone for many years already had a power vacuum, one which Warden Walker declares that he fills and thus he's the one the other Big Five Lords of the Underworld recognize as the Ghost Zone's official ruler.

 **Major144:** I'm really glad you liked the chapter. As for Danny, the God of Magic doesn't technically need him for his big endgame plan, but like with anyone who's doing something big enough, they want the people close to them to watch.

 **Brave2000:** Don't worry, more about the Devil's Essence and what it's doing will be explained as the story goes on. For now, the basics of it are that it's a corrupting force that's bring out a lot of Junior's inner darkness and the worst parts of himself, which is generally not a good thing given how powerful the Demon Reaper is, especially when he lashes out and doesn't care who he hurts.

 **AMTT94:** You know, I should give some thought to how Pandora's Ghost and the Fright Knight would interact, given how different their sections of the Ghost Zone are. And mind you, I never said if the Fright Knight was dead (er, deader) or not, just that Morg slashed him quite badly. It's Danny that he cares about.

And don't worry. With the Ghost King/Junior vs. Dan arc over, we are finally moving forward to sections in the story that will be focusing on characters other than just Junior and Daniela (characters who've already been introduced, I should add, as Danny got a lot of focus). Manny, Grim, Lord Pain, and of course Mandy, their time is coming back up.

* * *

 **CHAPTER START**

Junior gently lowered Daniela onto the soft bed, finding some small comfort in hearing her soft constant breaths between the ticks of the clocks all around them. "Thank you for doing this." Junior said as he turned to the master of this far-off domain.

"I assure you, it is no trouble." Clockwork told Junior, the toddler ghost of time leading the way out of the spare room. "I had the room prepared for just such an occasion."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see that you're not surprised to see us" Junior remarked as the two passed by the many windows in Clockwork's sanctuary that peeked in on various moments in time.

"Of all the choices you had for where to take your sister, I merely knew that I was one of them." Clockwork replied simply, his shift from a toddler to an old man making the floating ghost just barely taller than the lanky Reaper. "I take it there will be others you'd like to bring for me to keep safe."

"Manny, definitely. I'll bring him as soon as I'm able." Junior said, trying not to seem ungrateful to the ghost for his hospitality. "I'd like to bring my parents, but given its them the God of Magic has some grudge against, he'd probably come after them even here. I don't think you'd like it if your sanctuary turned into a battlefield."

"It is where I keep all my stuff." The now prime age Clockwork joked, trying at least somewhat to lift the mood. "And Minnie?"

Junior was holding his hand by his wrist, trying to get it to stop shaking. "It's… It's not safe for me to be around her right now. Same reason I can't just grab Mimi and Chi and bring them up here."

With Junior going silent, Clockwork spoke up again. "Another reason I knew you'd be coming, Junior, is because of the questions I know you want to ask." He said.

Junior was admittedly impressed that the ghost could be so forward, though he supposed that was only because he himself was hesitating; worried about what the answers might be.

"In the memory Danny showed me, during the trial, you basically outright told the Observants that they were on their second chance."

"I did." The child Clockwork nodded.

"Well…doesn't that mean that you already know how all of this is going to end?" Junior asked the obvious question. "Since the Observants failed to make the right choice, that means everything is going like how it did before, right? They still took Timmy Turner's memories and fairies away and he still became the God of Magic. If things got so bad the first time around that you tried to use your powers to make things change, does that mean we've already failed? That the future is already doomed to whatever tragedy is about to happen?"

For a moment, the ghost of time was quiet, thinking over how best to give his answer.

"Do you know why I give people second chances, Junior?" Clockwork asked, shifting into his toddler age again.

"I'm assuming it's because you believe everyone deserves at least that much." Junior said.

"Yes, but do you know why I only give second chances, and not third or fourth and so on?" Clockwork asked again, the clarified question getting Junior to pause for a moment, not sure where the ghost was going with this. "With my powers, I can move back and forth through time freely and reset paradoxes as many times as I want, thus why yours and Dan's rampage through history was not too difficult for me to clean up." Clockwork got a quick small smirk out of seeing the slightly embarrassed look Junior gave to his side. "With all of that power, why do you suppose I didn't just keep trying until the odds were in my favor that the Observants would finally listen to my warnings?"

Junior thought about it for a moment. "I…I don't know."

The elderly Clockwork gave a nod of understanding before returning to his prime, not really having expected Junior to come up with the answer on his own. Junior could see the slight look of guilt on the ghost's face before he spoke, like it hurt him to talk about it.

"Junior, I've helped create timelines where Hitler stayed in art school and Von Doom gave working with his roommate a shot. And as such, both those timelines never had to suffer the tragedies those men would have inflicted upon the world. But as you might have noticed, that is not how the history of your timeline played out." The ghost respectfully pointed out to Junior, before all the various windows of time in the hall changed, showing many, very drastically different worlds from each other. "It is a multiverse of universes out there, Junior, but we all have to live in the worlds our decisions have shaped. Even me to an extent. I do what I can to help all the timelines flow in a way that benefits all, but I'm not god, nor do I fancy myself as one. I do not have some grand vision laid out. I don't know what the perfect world looks like. That's what I leave for those who do actually live in it to determine. So to answer your question, is the future doomed to repeat what I've seen before? It could be. But it also might not be. There is no such thing as fate, Junior. The multiverse proves that. Your choices and Timmy's from this point forward will determine the future that shall come to pass. I am merely here to make sure that you all have the opportunity to make those choices."

Clockwork's speech finished, the ghost gave the Reaper a moment to absorb everything he'd just said. As he thought it all over, Junior looked out through some of the windows in time, seeing various worlds. One ruled by apes. One ruled by machines. One with a proud Megaville still standing. Even seeing one that was technically the past for someone he'd once called friend, the window showing Dan in his prime, tossing tanks around joyously through the ruins he'd made of Amity Park.

The hand that'd thrown that final punched gave another pained twitch in Junior's grasp.

"One more question." Junior said.

"Just one?" The toddler Clockwork remarked evenly.

Junior needed a moment to work up his nerve to ask it. "…If I were on my second chance…would you tell me?" He asked the ghost.

It was a few seconds of quiet before the elderly Clockwork answered him, though to Junior it almost felt like he'd been waiting for him to ask that of all things.

"You haven't asked me to tell you what happened in the other timeline or the choices you and your family made in it." Clockwork pointed out. "Because you know it'd make you doubt all the choices you'd make after I told you, if I told you. Would you really do this thing because you know it's what's right or because you know of the specific consequence you'd face otherwise?" He threw out as an example. "That's why I didn't just tell young Danny about who he could become in the future. There'd always be that shred of doubt hanging over him that he could still become Dan, instead of him facing his future head-on and proving to himself that Dan was not the person he'd choose to be. As obtuse as it may seem, I apply the same to you, Junior." The ghost of time then put his withered old hand warmly upon Junior's shoulder. "And whether this is your first chance or your second, you should know that I trust you to make the right choices when the time comes."

Junior was…quite stunned by the encouragement, for lack of a better word. It left him quite speechless. Clockwork could it in the Reaper's expression, that that belief had not fully penetrated him yet; Junior did not have the same faith in himself. But it did give him more to think about, and as Junior's red wings sprouted out from his back and he flew off with a single nod of gratitude to the ghost, Clockwork knew that that little extra bit might be just what they'd all need when the time finally came.

* * *

The Scotsman and Pandora's Ghost breathed heavily as kept careful watch on the other from their short distance apart, both leaning against their long weapons as they could barely stand.

"Alright…I'll admit…ya fight well fer a walking fart in a dress." The Scotsman remarked, this being the first break they'd had in the battle in hours.

"Likewise… You fight well for a barrel of old meat in a skirt." The ghost sassed back at the warrior, smirking as one of her tired hands pointed at his kilt.

"Heh." The Scotsman actually chuckled, appreciating a good insult like any respectable member of his clan.

As the two took their much-needed moment to rest beside the gravestone, Pandora's Ghost kept her head still but moved her eyes to discretely glace over to a random clustering of rocks and boulders a few yards away. "You've been seeing it too, yes?" She calmly asked the Scotsman.

"Aye. Dem little flickers. Been goin' on fer about half an hour, maybe more. Happenin' whenever we start movin' around too much." The Scotsman said, being just as careful as the ghost to not give himself away. "We're bein' watched."

"Given that whoever it is has come to neither my aid nor yours, I believe it's safe to assume that they are no ally to either of us." Pandora's ghost rationally deduced. "Perhaps a temporary truce is in order? Just until this eavesdropper is taken care of."

"Eh, why not? Could make fer a good change a pace." The Scotsman said, accepting her offer as he straightened his back.

As the ghost did the same, pulling her spear up from the dry dirt, for a second it looked as though the two warriors were about to go at it again. But then Pandora's Ghost suddenly turned, ecto-blasts launching out of three of her four hands to strike at the mound of boulders. The rocks were unscathed, as the blasts stopped just short of them, hitting what would almost seem like a solid wall of the air itself.

Mad yelling was heard from above. The Scotsman had leapt up quite high for a man of his thick build and was coming down fast, the rune-incrusted broadsword held above his head as he flew through the sky.

Clearing the distance so quickly, the Scotsman brought the sword slamming down with one mighty swing, indeed crashing the thick blade against something unseen but very solid.

But not solid enough, as the several electric sparks following the crunch showed. Whatever hid behind the previously bending light flickered into existence, long enough for the Scotsman to see the hard metal fist that punched him away.

The Celtic warrior stumbled a bit across the ground but was quick to be back on his feet, with Pandora's Ghost taking a step forward to protect him if need be.

Whatever device was keeping the stranger invisible, the two attacks had been more than enough to break it, as a very tall red-horned figure continued to rapidly flicker into view for longer and longer before his armored form was finally stuck as plainly visible.

"Damn. That was one of the few upgrades Drax forced upon me that I actually liked." The clearly cybernetic demon cursed, though with a largely unconcerned tone as he simply ripped the damaged invisibility device from his arm, letting the exposed wires pull themselves back under his armored forearm, covering up the fuss of noise and sparking electricity.

It was the shape of the horns mostly that triggered the knowledge in the ghost's head. There was too little of the demon's actual flesh left between all that machinery to give her any other clue, but the horns were almost right out of the book of old Underworld fables. No other creature that exists today could have survived for long being made in the devil's own image. "A Basilican? I'd heard that you lot were made extinct by Lucifer himself some millennia ago?"

"You have heard correctly, fair lady. It is unfortunate but my former master was very effective in the slaughter of his own army. With the 57% of my true body that remains, I doubt you could even call me the last Basilican." The cyborg said simply, seeming unworried, possibly even apathetic to the two warriors who kept their weapons securely aimed at him. "My name is Empheles, and one of the many chores the short red-haired troll who calls himself my new master has sent me on is the collection of the samurai's body." He explained, pointing at the grave. "…Said master is now telling me to shut up and do my job already. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Are ya kiddin' me with this hooey?" The Scotsman spat. "Have ya not been payin' any attention ta what we've been fightin' over fer the last couple of hours? Ain't no one gonna be disturbin' my friend's rest!"

"Most especially anyone such as you, demon." Pandora's Ghost declared as she pointed the tip of her lengthy spear towards Empheles's throat. "More than likely, you are in league with the same cowardly villains who are threatening my own masters, the Grim family. Against you, mine and the Scotsman's truce shall hold true."

"Which means ya can forget about takin' laddie anywhere!" The Scotsman hollered as the ghost followed his lead, both diving with killing strikes at the cyborg.

Empheles did not move from where he stood. With one hand he grabbed onto the tip of the golden spear, where even with all four arms pushing Pandora's Ghost could not even budge the Basilican, and with the other his forearm opened out, hundreds of thick red cables and metal tendrils erupting out to ensnare the Scotsman, its sheer mass taking away all momentum from his sword's swing.

"It is truthfully more disappointing for me than it is you, warriors." Empheles told them, unfazed as both his opponents struggled while he did not. "My master had me observing you for study before, and neither of you are anywhere near powerful enough to kill me. On the list of those who are, only Grim Jr is likely someone I'll be sent to fight against and sadly efforts have been taken to keep him away from the true conflict until it is too late."

Acting quickly in case the cyborg was about to ensnare her the same way as her ally, Pandora's Ghost took two of her hands off her spear's staff to toss a bladed wave of ecto-energy through the air, cutting through the tendrils that bound the Scotsman. Free at last, the barrel-chested warrior did a roll back to get some proper distance between him and the enemy. But as he did so, Empheles's hand reformed itself, stuffing all the cut cables back into his arm as he suddenly grabbed at Pandora's Ghost's throat. Upon just the mere grip of his hand powerful green electricity started visibly shooting through her body, causing the screaming ghost nearly enough agony to drop her spear.

"Fenton Works brand Specter Deflector." Empheles explained dryly as the green flashing lights reflected off his polished, domed head. "Drax completely hates how much better their ghost fighting inventions are than his own, but under the Boogieman's orders he installed them in me and Lantern regardless."

With both of the cyborg's arms occupied in restraining Pandora's Ghost and her weapon, she'd given the Scotsman the perfect opening to strike. His broadsword went for Empheles's head but the demon was quick to turn his neck to avoid the stab. The Scotsman's momentum having carried him in close, Empheles bent his head back before throwing it forward into the warrior's own skull.

Then, for the first time since he'd arrived, the eyeless face of the Basilican showed genuine surprise, as while the Scotsman's forehead bled slightly, the skull bash only caused the man's many crooked teeth to flash the cyborg in a massive smug grin.

Grabbing Empheles by the horns, the Scotsman gave the demon a headbutt of his own; one strong enough to get Empheles to release his grip upon Pandora's Ghost as he went smashing through the rocks behind him.

"Ya alright?" The Scotsman asked his temporary ally as she picked herself up off the ground, his hard head not even the slightest bit woozy.

"I'll be better once I have what's left of the Basilican's entrails coating my spear." Pandora's Ghost grumbled as she nursed off a splitting headache. Seeing Empheles also start to rise from where the Scotsman had knocked him, she pointed her spear towards him and chanted "O great Athena, lead me your aid!"

From out of under her robe burst forth three giant owls, so black and smoky like they were made of pure shadow. The three birds attacked Empheles in rapid succession, their talons slicing at his armored plating like it was made of ribbons. The nanobots that Drax had infected into his bloodstream healed up the minor cuts almost just as quickly, but that wasn't what Empheles was paying attention to. The two warriors were coming at him again to attack, this time with the owls covering their weak points. But the tiny green sparks that were created each time the owls struck him let Empheles in on a valuable clue. Despite the darker differences in appearance, the birds were ghosts as well.

Upon the owls' next pass around at him, the metal of Empheles's chest suddenly opened up, revealing swirling red mist contained with a small crystal ball, implanted where one of his lungs used to be.

"No!" Pandora's Ghost cried out, halting her attack and instantly turning her head away, recognizing the form of the same object that'd been used to enslave her before.

The Scotsman was stunned at the warrior woman he'd spent endless minutes fighting with before was now so easily frightened by a ball of glass, obviously not knowing what it was. But as the owls had also halted their attacks against the cyborg, and not by Pandora's Ghost's order by the looks of it, he started to put together what the unknown item's true danger was.

"Relax, dear maiden. This is merely the prototype we developed when trying to recreate Freakshow's crystal ball." Empheles told Pandora's Ghost, still standing with her back to him as she tried to think of a plan, like the ball was the eyes of the Medusa. "It does not strip the will away like the finished product the human Pandora used on you. It more simply clears the mind away from all thoughts other than aggression." He said, as he pointed his finger and owls turned, all with their eyes an unearthly red and screeching in a blind rage as the flew to attack the two warriors.

The Celtic magic that fueled the Scotsman's sword allowed him to easily lay waste to the owl that dove at him, the Scotsman charging forward while Pandora's Ghost closed her eyes to find blind against the other two.

With the Scotsman's surprisingly fast swings aiming for the crystal ball in his chest, Empheles had a much harder time dodging and opted instead to use his armored arms to parry and deflect the sword's attacks. The Scotsman was able to keep the demon on his toes for a bit but wasn't managing to break through his defenses no matter how fast or hard he went. Finally, Empheles found his opening, smacking the Scotsman's arm far to his right and grabbing the warrior by his fat throat. His grip securing his hold on him, Empheles gave the Scotsman a hard punch to the face, getting him to the ground.

But after seeing firsthand how protectively thick the Scotsman's skull truly was after that headbutt, Empheles took no chances and continued his attack, his fist relentlessly pounding into the human's face very much like a jackhammer, while his hand around his throat kept him pinned to the ground.

When the Scotsman's face looked like rotten hamburger meat was when Empheles finally stopped his assault. And yet, even with several more of his crooked teeth having been spat out disgustingly from his purple and bruised face, the Scotsman still smiled that same unyieldingly cocky grin.

"Ha…is that the best ya can do, ya beef jerky, tin-can wearin' baby? Me nanna hits harder than you." The Scotsman laughed raspy through his beaten features.

"You are a very stubborn man." Empheles commented evenly, slightly impressed in spite of himself at the warrior's refusal to just whimper and die.

The Scotsman gave a chuckle, spitting some of his blood onto Empheles's face, though the slick metal just let it slide right off. "Aye…and I'm also the one yer front is facin', ya daft idjit."

Empheles cocked his head slightly, confused by the meaning of those words. But soon the cyborg was given his very abrupt answer as Pandora's Ghost drove her spear into his back and through his chest. She'd already taken care of the owls he turned against her, and by the sound of shattering glass, she herself was no longer in danger of the crystal ball's influence.

The spear's tip went through the Scotsman, but true to their truce, Pandora's Ghost did not let it harm him, having turned the bladed end intangible while the rest stayed solid enough to cause sparks to fly from the cyborg's open core. In a show of his thanks for not killing him, the Scotsman drove his sword through the shoulder of the arm Empheles held his neck with. Pushing forward and the rune-coated blade cut the limb clean off, getting a nice little yowl of pain from Empheles as a reward.

His severed arm hit the ground, but the cyborg was still far from helpless, as he proved when his remaining arm turned a full 180 degrees to reach behind him and grab hold of one of Pandora's Ghost's own. The paralyzing green electricity shuttered through her again, the pain preventing her from going intangible when Empheles hoisted her body up over his head and brought her slamming back down into the Scotsman, knocking the wind out of both and likely snapping something breakable inside the Scotsman.

Like a caveman with a club, Empheles continued to beat his two opponents into each other, only stopping when Pandora's Ghost's arm suddenly broken from the force and she slipped through his hand. With both enemies on the ground, heavily battered and bruised, Empheles noticed that Pandora's Ghost kept her spear still clutched in her hand. Even while he'd be beating on her, the ghost had made sure to keep the weapon intangible until it was out of the Scotsman's chest so that it would not impale him. That was quite admirable, Empheles supposed. He doubted he had a single ally in the alliance that would ever bother with something like that.

Metallic tendrils spread out from the shoulder of Empheles's severed arm and connected into the stub on his side, pulling itself back into place while his chest pushed out the glass shards of the former crystal ball and sealed itself back up. "My sincere thanks to the both of you for aiming your attacks at my machine parts, whether intentional or not." He said to them as his arm clicked back into place and an odd silver metal ooze spread out to fix up the damaged area. "Drax's nanobots "heal" me by replacing whatever is broken, cut, or missing with more cybernetics. Unless it's a blow that is certain to finish me off, I would prefer to keep what little still remains of my true body."

As the two warriors groaned and slowly shifted to try and stand back up, the metal around Empheles's wrist stretched out and morphed into a long singular blade. "The little troll is urging me to make you suffer despite also demanding that I hurry up and make my way to the true conflict. But the two of you have fought too honorably to deserve such a fate. My strikes shall be through your brains. It will be a near instant and relatively painless death. You both have earned such peace."

Empheles bent back his arm, preparing to strike. The Scotsman's fingers held tight around the hilt of his sword but he couldn't lift it up. He was pretty sure his arm was broken. Pandora's Ghost's ectoplasmic biology was straightening out her own bent limbs as best as it could but not quick enough and even if it was, it was doubtful even the ghost could survive such a strike through the head with the weaponry the cyborg had.

Of all the other things he'd encountered in his life that could have killed him, this seemed like a pretty shitty way to go out, the Scotsman thought to himself as the blade in Empheles wrist was ready to impale him.

But just as the demon started his jab, he suddenly stopped, his head perking up and looking around in confusion, like he'd heard something odd.

"…Is that _Beethoven's 5_ _th_?" Empheles's audio sensors picked up the noise before either of his opponents did. It was obviously a whistle and not done on an instrument of any kind but the familiar notes were instantly recognizable. Through because of all the rocks there was a small echo that made it difficult to determine where at first the whistling was coming from.

The rhythm then changed, the whistling becoming something more akin to jazz, when suddenly something incredibly fast shot through Empheles's hand, shattering the thin blade and leaving a bright line of red line behind to mark its path.

The unknown object changed path almost immediately, circling around to stab through the cyborg's thigh; Empheles looking just in time to see that it was a small metal arrow before it cut its way seamlessly through his body.

The holes the arrow made, however deep, were easy enough to be fixed by the nanobots, and it didn't take much thought for Empheles to figure out that the changing notes of the whistling were what controlled the arrow. Listening for the next set, it as simple to predict the arrow's next change in direction, and thus Empheles moved in turn, spinning around and reaching to grab the weapon just as it turned to attack him.

But then the whistle's tune changed again, sounding like a rock tune out of the 60's ( _Jay and the Americans_?), and before his fingers could have curled around the arrow, Empheles found both his shoulders suddenly punched in, this time by a blue and a yellow line respectively.

Three arrows he had to deal with now, and while each individual impalement couldn't cause too much damage, the arrows moved fast enough in a swarm around Empheles that for every one hole his body filled in, at least six more were split open to take its place. They didn't hurt much but Empheles doubted he'd be capable of fighting back much once his body was turned into swiss cheese within the next minute. And sadly, due to Drax's programming, Empheles wasn't able to just lie back and graciously accept that fate.

His hand receding into his wrist while compartments opened up in his forearm until it resembled a small cannon, over a million decibels of pure white noise erupted out of the central emitter where his palm had been. The three arrows fell lifelessly to the ground while the Scotsman and Pandora's Ghost covered their ears best they could to try and protect themselves from the horrific screeching.

"If your weapons are controlled by your sound, then I must simply take that sound away." Empheles stated, unbothered by the noise as all the holes in his body filled back in, leaving him good as new. He then pointed his cannon's tip at a mound of large rocks about eighty degrees to his left. "I had to wait before I knew where you were."

That was all the warning Empheles gave before his sonic cannon fired, the sound attack so powerful it could almost be seen rippling through the air before it completely obliterated the rocks.

Empheles's mysterious attacker finally came out of hiding, his cloak flapping behind them as the stranger leapt out of the dust cloud the disintegrated rocks had created. The hood obscured the strangers face, with Empheles only able to spot a single eye within its shadows lining up the shot as the archer pulled multiple arrows out from the quiver on his back and placed them on the bow in his hand.

One after another, the archer fired four arrows in rapid succession at Empheles. Three of them bounced harmlessly off the metal of his cybernetics but the fourth struck the redness of his side, where his actual remaining flesh was. It seemed to be of little concern though. As evidenced by the arrow having just barely been able to break through the tough red skin, these were not the same high-tech silver arrows from before but regular wooden ones, though with strange circular orange patterns decorating the shaft.

Still vary of letting the archer use the sound-controlled arrows again, Empheles kept up his attacks with his sonic cannon. The archer dove and slid across the dirt to avoid the spiraling blast, pulling out another arrow from his quiver, this one with the same strange markings on it, only blue.

Pulling the string back, the archer did not fire the arrow at Empheles but rather into the sky above him. The arrow sailed through the air before its markings quickly started to glow brightly before it exploded. In its place, the smoke cleared to reveal an almost hole in the sky; a random black checkered pattern splattered against some invisible wall hanging in the air. A swirling blue portal swayed in its center, with bending turquoise lines spreading off it like veins.

To his alarm, the orange arrow in Empheles's side started to glow too and the demon suddenly realized what the archer's plan had been.

He moved to rip the arrow out of his body, but too late. Like he was frozen in place, Empheles felt his body start breaking apart, almost pixelating into hundreds of tiny black squares, with every part of his being suddenly shooting up into the sky-bound portal and far away from the battle.

With a whistle one would use to call a dog back to them, the three metal arrows sprang back to life, flying over to the archer before gently setting themselves back inside the quiver. With that, the archer turned attention to Pandora's Ghost and the Scotsman, both warriors almost gaping at how quickly the stranger had vanquished their enemy.

"Come with me. Hurry." The archer quickly waved for the two to follow, the voice making the two realize the archer was actually a girl. "That portal sent the cyborg to the dimension of the Twili people, but I have great doubt it will hold him there for long. I imagine Master Link and Queen Midna would be very unhappy with me if it did. Regardless, we must make haste if we are to be gone before the demon returns."

The Scotsman and the ghost exchanged a look with each other, confirming that they were not alone in their skepticism. True, the archer saved their lives, but this was still the Underworld and appearances could be fatally deceiving, especially given the convenience of her rescue.

Still, if Empheles was going to return soon, then they couldn't just stick around here and the Scotsman, despite his pride, knew he wasn't in any shape to keep protecting his friend's grave.

So with a nod of understanding, Pandora's Ghost helped the Scotsman back to his feet, using her extra arms to pick up their weapons while helping the large man stay supported, as they followed after the archer.

* * *

HIM sat silently within his office, the only sounds being the scratches of his quill on his paperwork and the rush of the flowing lavafall behind him.

Not even bothering to take his eyes off his documents, HIM casually tilted his head to his right, having moved just in time as a rolled up scroll was thrown past his head, being chucked hard enough that its metal handles became embedded in the rock behind the lava.

"It's about time you got here, Junior. You're three hours late." HIM remarked evenly, finishing reading through his paperwork before he snapped his claw to the air. By his command, one of his many molten-covered Lava Giants broke its arm out of the side of the cliff, its massive bolder fingers plucking the scroll out of the lavafall with surprising finesse before handing it off to HIM. As the giant returned to its slumber, HIM saw that the non-melted and unburnt scroll was the Infi-Map. "I take it your delay was partially caused by you digging around the ruins of Pariah's Keep to retrieve this thing?" The lobster-clawed demon asked Junior as the Reaper finally came stomping up to his desk.

"Didn't want to risk falling for any traps you might have left if I failed to return what I "borrowed"." Junior explained gruffly as HIM slid his drawer open and uncaringly tossed the map away into his desk. "So, when you sent me on my way to confront the Ghost King, I guess it must have just slipped your mind that the God of Magic was sending the Boogieman and Dan out there too?"

"No, I didn't forget. I just lied and didn't tell you." HIM shrugged with a delighted smile, which gave Junior little doubt that that was the truth at least. "You're something of a wild card in this whole game, but that doesn't mean you can't be somewhat predictable. Old Turner came to me about taking care of his old friend way before you arrived here."

"Oh? So you're brave enough to finally say his name now?" Junior asked.

HIM simply smirked, not taking the Reaper's bait. "I wasn't the one who wasn't allowed to say anything." He said, pointing his claw to behind Junior.

Turning around, the heavenly goddess stood out immensely from the decrepit hellscape around her. Junior had to wonder how looked less happy to see the other: him or Eris?

"I take it this is another one of your little apple clones?" Junior asked the frowning goddess of chaos, surprisingly not all that surprised to see her suddenly appear before him. "I already told you what I'd do to you if you betrayed me."

"I didn't betray you, Junior." Eris told him, her arms folded defensively as she could almost feel the skeleton's eye studying her to determine whether she was the real goddess of chaos or not.

"Technically." HIM added, getting a glare from Eris.

"I meant everything that I said to you when we made our deal." Eris tried to explain to Junior. "Timmy knows how much I hate being his slave, thus why he sent me to point you in Kare's direction. You'd believe what I'd tell you because it was the actual truth. I want nothing more than for you to kill him."

"So the God of Magic is the one who sent me after Danny?" Junior asked, still angry but could feel that the Reaper's deal between them had not broken. Eris wasn't lying, about that at least.

"We more or less hashed out the details together." HIM said, hint of pride at his own brilliance. "It wasn't as much of a grand, master plan as you might think. Our only goal was basically just to keep you and the Ghost King busy for a while. Turner decided he should throw Dan in because he might help and by golly did he! Didn't expect your kid sister to pop in like she did, but honestly she also probably helped more than she hurt."

"Oh, right. That reminds me." Junior brought up casually, before his arm suddenly exploded into a thick black mass, grabbing HIM fully by the chest and squeezing hard enough where audible snaps were heard from within the demon's torso and arms. The attack took Eris greatly by surprise and she was unable to get out of the way in time when Junior's other arm suddenly stretched and shot out at her, impaling the goddess through the shoulder. "I can handle being led into a trap." Junior explained in almost sociopathic coldness. "But my sister nearly died because of you two, and that's not something I forgive easily."

"Not like we had that much influence there, sport." HIM remarked back casually himself to Junior, showing no obvious pain on his smirking face despite his binds.

Junior gave Kare a squeeze to get him to shut up. Over with Eris, the wetness that ran down his arm from the penetrating wound he gave her wasn't blood but a far more clear substance. A liquid with an almost golden tint. Apple juice. It really wasn't the real Eris, much to Junior's irritation.

"Oh, don't look so sour, Junior. She wouldn't have been much help to you anyway." HIM chuckled as Junior's arm receded back away from Eris, the goddess giving him an annoyed scowl as the arm of her clone snapped off as soon as Junior ripped his hand away. "She's literally incapable of telling you anything about her master that you don't already know. Tis the nature of the Master's Brand."

"And you?"

"I can tell you anything I want. I'm just kind of a dick." HIM shrugged as much as he could in Junior's hold. "As such, I feel I should tell you that your actions right here are exactly why Turner was so insistent on making sure you were kept busy. Despite generally keeping your distance, you would do almost anything to protect your family."

"…What do you mean?" Junior asked, not liking the way the demon phrased that statement.

"You still haven't noticed it yet?" Eris remarked to Junior, picking up her severed arm and using what little magics this fake form had to reattach it.

"Kid hasn't read _Watchmen_ enough times, it seems." HIM commented.

"The movie was decent." Eris said, flexing her fingers to get the feeling back into them.

"Oh yes. Especially the Ultimate Cut. Pretty good recreation."

"What the f**k are you two idiots on about?!" Junior snapped, his patience at an end.

With a nod from HIM, Eris picked up a rock from the floor and threw it at the lavafall. Unlike the Infi-Map, the stone never touched the lava, getting instead bounced back by a previously unseen wall, the impact lighting up a large blood-red pentagram seal. But not just by the lavafall. For a quick second, the walls of the office, the floor, the ceiling, and even the doorway behind Eris flashed with the same demonic imagery before disappearing from sight again.

"What…?! What…what is this?!" Junior demanded to know as his senses were now fully aware of the strange, almost claustrophobic magic surrounding them.

"It's a box. What does it look like?" HIM said, dryly mocking him for missing the obvious. "And like any box, it's meant to hold things."

Getting the bad feeling that he knew exactly what the demon meant, the arm that held Kare pulled back to Junior, letting HIM fall undignified into the floor as Junior summoned up a scythe out of his Nergaling flesh.

Slicing the curved blade through the air, Junior's alarmed suspicions were confirmed when nothing happened.

"You didn't really think that after all he did to keep you distracted that Turner would just let you run wild once you came back from the Ghost Zone, did you?" HIM asked Junior rhetorically as his lanky form slid unnaturally back up to his feet, cracking his neck uncaringly as his broken and bent bones snapped back into place.

When the scythe portals still refused to come forth, Junior finally turned his weapon to Kare. "What did you do?" He growled.

The unintimidated demon just continued to smirk. "It's like I said, Junior. You're late." He told the Reaper. "The attack on your family's homestead began the moment you and Dan started your little smackdown. _Three hours ago_."

* * *

Just seconds after their savior who led the way, the Scotsman and Pandora's Ghost emerged out of the swirling green portal into the Ghost Zone, just behind the archer.

"Good. After all the tremors that shook the Ghost Zone I was worried the portal Kevin and Rook showed me would no longer be there." She remarked with her back currently to the two warriors, too busy surveying their surroundings in the frozen tundra where they'd exited. "Though I suppose the opposite problem is more likely. At least more natural portals could mean more potential escapes if needed."

The Scotsman nodding to let the woman know that it was alright, Pandora's Ghost set the man down to sit in the snow so that she might have a moment to rest herself. Using her spear to keep herself supported, Pandora's Ghost finally noticed something odd about the female archer, now that they were in a more peaceful setting. She and the Scotsman were quite larger than most other typical humanoids, but the archer would still be considered quite short even by normal means, likely only coming up just past the stomach of any other adult woman. Still, it was not the girl's height that'd helped them escape Empheles. The skills she showed were certainly not to be underestimated.

"My many thanks for coming to our aid, archer." Pandora's Ghost said, remaining the girl's attention again. "But even with that gratitude, one must still ask the obvious question of why you did so."

"The fact that you needed help is not reason enough?" The archer remarked as she turned to face them.

"This is the Underworld. Nothing is given freely." Pandora's Ghost pointed out.

Given what little could be seen of her face under the shadow of her hood, the archer's expression seemed to indicate that she couldn't exactly disagree with that statement. "While I doubt you'll believe it, my coming across your battle was simply happenstance." She told them. "I was and am still on my way to Aku City. My father sent me an SOS, confirming that my family is under attack, likely by the same forces that created the resurrected Basilican you both fought. If he is anything to judge the rest of them by, then my suspicions are even more confirmed that I by myself would be of little help. Lady Chi and my former sensei, perhaps even Demongo if Lord Aku will release him from his curse to help. They might be enough to turn the tide, and when I witnessed the two of you holding your own against the cyborg despite exhaustion, I believe I saw a way to increase our odds of victory even more."

"You want us to help you fight against your family's attackers?" Pandora's Ghost asked in small surprise.

The archer nodded her head. "You are under no obligation to do so, of course. I do not consider either of you within my debt. But I would reward you both handsomely for any aid you might be able to give."

Suddenly, the archer found the tip of the Scotman's long rune blade pointing directly at her face in warning.

"An' that just confirms even more that we shouldn't trust ya!" The Scotsman yelled defiantly at the surprised girl, even startling Pandora's Ghost a bit at the unexpected move. "No one sees someone get their arse kicked and then thinks about havin' them along fer a fight. Not on their side, at least. There's more ta this than yer sayin'. Now take yer hood off! Who the heck are ya anyway?!"

Once the initial stunned heat of the Scotsman's outburst and clear threat had passed, the archer gave a single calm nod and did as he said, slowly raising her hands up to pull her hood back, letting two tufts of blonde devil horns style hair poke up once the restricting cloth was uncovered. It took every last bit of Pandora's Ghost's restraint not to immediately bow on the spot.

"I am Minimandy, of the house of Grim." The pink-skinned ragdoll girl said, her single eye staring ahead unafraid past the Scotsman's blade despite its closeness to her pupil. "I believe you already know my brother." She added with a smile to the Scotsman.

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** Was anyone waiting for Minnie to appear? I honestly couldn't tell (kidding, kidding).

But yeah, Minnie's back, Daniela's resting, Clockwork's being cryptic, Empheles could probably use a hug and an orbital nuke, and Junior just found out his family has been getting attacked by the villain's alliance for the past three hours while he and Dan were busy punching each other. So, no rest for the wicked quite yet, save for Junior who is being forced to sit things out for a bit.

Eh. I'm sure everything will be fine.

So there were a couple references some might have noticed in this chapter. The first is that, yes, Minnie is using Yondu's arrow from the _Guardians of the Galaxy_ movie (I specify the movie because the arrow and Yondu himself are way different in the comics). I believe it was the reviewer Coldblue who recommended that I give Minnie's ragdoll body some kind of cybernetic upgrade or weapon that helped spark this idea. The weapons I generally think of when I think of Minnie are rapiers and the bow and arrow and I can think of more uses for the latter in regards to her height and body.

The other reference is Cyborg's sonic cannon from _Teen Titans_ , which Drax did not steal the design of but was inspired by to create his own better version (or at least that's what he claims). And the arrows that sent Empheles to the Twilight dimension is a reference to the _Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess_ video game, one of my favorites of the series and also one of the first fanfiction stories I wrote for this website (crossing over with _Doctor Who_ , of course). Link is a short guy well known for taking on huge things way out of his league and yet still winning, so he'd definitely be someone Minnie would seek out to get some pointers from.

* * *

 **QTP:** Like Timmy and the Observants, is Junior also on his second chance? Where did Minnie get three of Yondu's arrows and how is she able to control them so well? Who is this sensei Minnie mentioned along with Chi and Demongo? Will HIM and Eris be able to keep Junior contained in the Land of Tainted Souls? And how bad is the situation at Castle Grimskull?


	25. Three hours ago, part 1

**Part 25: Three hours ago, part 1**

 **Brave2000:** Hmm, it's a bit hard for me to rank every character in how their power scales and compares to everyone else's, mostly because of all the different powers and magics being thrown around. For example, Grim and Clockwork are probably some of the most powerful characters in Grim Tales, but neither of them are really fighters. A lot of what Grim and his scythe can do and his dominion over the dead is used primarily for his job as the Grim Reaper, and Clockwork likewise controls the flow of time, something almost impossible for anyone to fight against. On the other side of this we have Mandy, whom outside of being immortal has no powers (though the cartoon showed she is stronger than the average human), but is still feared by others for her strategic mind and fighting prowess. Heck, Lord Pain in this chapter fits a similar mold, not being as powerful as his opponent but being a far better fighter than them.

But, if I'm ranking just in terms of raw power and how difficult it'd generally be to take them down, then I suppose as it stands right now, it's:

1\. The God of Magic

2\. Junior (Layer 3, not holding back)

3\. Dan Phantom (wearing Crown and Ring)

4\. Aku

5\. Danny Phantom (wearing Crown and Ring)

6\. Junior (base form/layer 2)

7\. HIM (mostly because he is more about deals and trickery than brute force, but he can still be a powerful opponent and to be honest, he and Junior are interchangeable on this list).

This is just a rough idea of where everyone stands as we've seen so far, and some like Grim and Clockwork are not ranked among the most powerful because their abilities make it unclear where they'd be. Hope this helps at least somewhat.

 **DPSS:** Minnie is still stuck in her original ragdoll body. So physically she still looks ten years old while mentally and chronologically she's 27 (she's a year younger than Junior). Which, as you can imagine, really freaking sucks for her.

And yes, Link (or at least the version from Twilight Princess) is married to Midna, as that little bit was a reference to the LOZ/Doctor Who crossover I did years ago, where the two got together. Not really important to the story of anything.

1.) Well, given some of the dream visions Junior has had, particularly after his fight with Lantern, I'm sure Junior can imagine a few places he could have potentially gone wrong the first time.

2.) Would you believe she has two little cybernetic horns hidden under her hair?

3.) Yeah, it's kind of an odd pick, I'll admit.

4.) I suppose the big question then is how long would it take Junior to break out? There must be at least something the villains want to happen in their invasion of Grimskull that they are worried Junior could get in the way of.

5.) Word.

 **AMTT94:** Huh. I didn't even realize that, and I used to play a lot of quest-based games.

I am still working on League Beyond Legends but Complex is taking priority since it's been around longer, so it sadly might be some time before the next upload.

 **Lord Razer:** Just wait until you see what HIM does next (not in this chapter, but a later one). And I have figured out what Drax's motivation is, so don't worry there (he is Dexter from an alternate reality, I'll tell you that much at least). And yes, Link and Midna are married. That little bit was a reference to the LOZ/Doctor Who crossover I did years ago, where the two got together.

 **Major144:** I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, and yes, this one will have a few new, but familiar faces from Grim and Mandy's past. Two of them to be exact.

 **nightmaster000:** I'm glad you're enjoying the chapter, and also how happy people are that Minnie is finally in the story (now how long will it be until she and her new party pop up again…).

1.) That's about all Clockwork would tell him, too.

2.) That is the thing about the Underworld; everyone dies eventually and the dead usually at least pass through the down below.

3.) Well, I do want to put that character in the story at some point, mostly because of how fun I think his dialogue could be to write.

4.) Little bit, especially given that it's HIM.

5.) Yeah… And the worst part is that it gets worse.

 **Yinyang2017:** Glad to be back. For Batman Beyond, the League Beyond Legends story is likely where Terry and the Grim Tales characters would have any meaningful interaction, since it has more focus on the DCAU in general. Grim Tales and PPGD are set in the same universe, it's just that Grim Tales is a possible future timeline for PPGD. I'm certain to have Grim Tales character meeting with characters whom were prominent in PPGD, like with Samurai Jack or the chapter I had with Grim and Dee Dee meeting again. But I admittedly have thought about Grim Tales characters traveling back in time to Megaville and meeting the Powerpuffs, so it could certainly happen one day.

Also, exposing my ignorance here, I didn't know that's how TV Tropes worked and that I could just add stuff myself. Though to be honest, I feel this story (and a couple of my others) could use more polish and work before I'd do something like that. Thanks though.

* * *

 **CHAPTER START**

Three hours before his brother would receive the terrible news from HIM, Manny of the house of Grim stood within the barracks of his family's forces, a large battle-axe catching his eye.

"Oh, yeah. This will do nicely." He cooed as he admired the weapon, doing his best to heave it up from the rack. He held the long staff up for almost a minute, but the blade nearly the size of his torso was too heavy for even his ghost form and the massive axe slipped from his fingers and crashed loudly into the floor behind him.

A significant brush of embarrassed heat flushed through Manny's cheeks as he heard some of the Tikbalangs laugh in good humor at the sight, one in particular coming in to easily lift the large weapon over his much broader shoulders, giving Manny a well-meaning pat on the back before walking away.

"…Maybe I should go with a sword instead." Manny commented quietly to himself.

"Not to discourage you entirely, young master, but I do not believe a bladed weapon would be what best suites your current fighting style." Lord Pain said to Manny, his body conveniently blocking the wall of swords.

"I thought part of the point of following you around would be so that I could learn to fight better?" Manny pointed out.

"Correct, but to learn an entirely new fighting style generally takes years to truly master, which sadly is a timeframe our enemies have not given us. Thus, our better option for the moment is working to improve the way you already fight and buff out its weaknesses." The knight explained, staying focused on Manny while also keeping watch to make sure that the Tikbalangs and skeletons were adequately preparing themselves for upcoming battle, as they'd been ordered. "Am I correct that this new interest in bladed weapons comes from your brother, young master?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, you saw what he was able to do with that giant sword of his. He ripped through those three guys in Hel and dad's Gashado-whatever like they were nothing!"

"Indeed. And that is the point of that particular weapon, young master." Lord Pain said, slightly surprised at how the usually impatient Manny was hanging onto his every word and really listening to him. "From the tales I've heard of the blade's previous owner, the purpose of Dragonslayer is to end the battle in one single devastating blow. It takes incredible strength and stamina use the sword for even that one attack, and thus exposes the sword's weakness. The longer the battle goes on, the quicker the swordsman's fatigue will set in. Junior is subject to this too, it is simply all the souls he has eaten over the years that have given him far more endurance and stamina than others.

"It's actually almost the complete opposite of my own style, young master." Lord Pain remarked, patting the spiked cudgel on his belt. "With my crossbow and cudgel, I am able to control the flow of the battle, and the longer the battle goes on, the greater my advantage is, as my weapons are meant to inflict pain and drain my enemies' stamina while the lighter weight helps me reserve mine. Even further away from both of our styles is master Minimandy's. She enjoys the rhythm and flow of fencing, but her preferred weapon in actual combat is the bow and arrow, especially after the Halloweentown incident. She can keep her distance while still inflicting tremendous injury. As you might guess, though warriors may practice other styles, there is a focus on what will benefit from what they can already effectively do."

"So what would you say my style is?" Manny asked.

Lord Pain put his hand up to his chin in pondering. "As you and your twin are very much opposites of each other, I'd make the argument that you are very much a brawler, young master. You have a very basic style, with strong, fast attacks with your fists and other natural abilities. You take very much after your sperm donor, Dan Phantom."

"Like my father?"

"Like your sperm donor, yes." Lord Pain seamlessly repeated. "Given the advantages of such a lighter weight style, I'd say weaponry such as axes, swords, and war hammers would be more of a hinderance than a help. The only immediate compliment to it I can think of at the moment would be brass knuckles or a pair of protective gauntlets." Lord Pain scanned the wall of various weapons, having a moment of pause when he finally spied the gloves. "Actually, young master, you may benefit more from armor or a shield more than anything else."

"Armor?"

"Yes. Due to years of habit, you don't yet possess the same mindset as young master Daniela of going intangible to avoid damage. You focus very much on a quick offensive over defense. So perhaps something that could enable you to last longer throughout the battle, while allowing you to still stay on the attack, would be the best method for you at the moment."

Manny looked over to the racks where the spare armor was kept, most reserved for the Tikbalangs and thus far too large to fit him. The skeletons' armor likewise might prove too tight and most of those undead servants wore their armor constantly anyway. Still, the recommendation did give Manny something to think about.

"…Still think it'd be cool if I had a gun or a crossbow like you or mom." Manny remarked to the knight.

"Young master…you can fire bolts of ectoplasmic energy out of your hands at will."

The conversation finally found itself interrupted, as all the soldiers halted their tasks instantly when the lighting of the room turned red and an alarm started to blare.

"The proximity alert?" Lord Pain said, guessing that it could only mean their enemies were finally making their move. But just when he'd been about to give the order to his men to man their stations, a sudden headache shook through the knight's skull, causing him to grip his head and lean against the wall as the world spun around him.

"Charles? Charles!" Manny quickly rushed over to help the man stand. "Charles, what's wrong?"

With the ghost teen's assistance, Lord Pain was able to regain his stand, the room finally no longer shifting around him. "It's…it's nothing, Manny. Just a small bit of dizziness from stress. I'm fine, I assure you." He told the boy as he straightened himself back up. "Men, hold your positions here." He then addressed all the Tikbalangs and skeletons, whom immediately stood at attention to his orders. "You as well, Manny. I must go check out something in the lab."

With that, and not a single word more, Lord Pain turned and left; all the soldiers doubling their haste in readying their weapons and armor.

Had it not been for the red lighting, Manny would have completely missed it. Even now he thought it might have just been his eyes just seeing some weird reflection. But for a second there, Manny could have almost sworn Charles's eyes had a strange golden glow to them.

* * *

As soon as the alarm's blaring was finally turned off, Mandy entered into the security room. "On screen." She ordered, getting the skeletons working the control consoles to nod and quickly get to work. "I want a visual."

Her command was soon followed through, as on the monitors quickly showed the mountainous wastelands outside of the castle, and a large purple spaceship, shaped not unlike a battering ram, slowly making its way towards Grimskull.

"That's an Irken Battle Cruiser!" One of the skeletons exclaimed in horror, the symbol of the invader race displayed proudly across the ship's hull.

"A freshly repaired one too, by the look of it." Mandy stated calmly, pointing at the video feed. Upon closer inspection the skeletons observed the many large random grey patches along the ship's body; old wounds that'd been filled in by what appeared to be Martian technology. "If I had to guess, this is one of the flagships the Plumbers shot down during the Irken's failed invasion of Earth several years back. Given the much size, thankfully not THE flagship. The weapons systems of the _Massive_ could have potentially given even us some trouble." Looking over the ship's design more and thinking about what she'd learned from Gaz about how the aliens built them, Mandy turned to those at the controls. "What's that ship's designation?"

Looking up in the castle's database to match the ship's design and the shape of the Irken's symbol on the front, the skeletons were able to soon give an answer. "The _Still Impressive_ , my queen."

"I swear to god, if that's a penis joke…" Mandy grumbled before moving on. Still keeping her eyes on the screen, she walked over to the proper console and pushed down on the button that would patch her through to the infirmary's intercom. "Grim, how's the general doing?"

"Still too unconscious to appreciate my lack of bedside manner." Grim responded back dryly, looking over from his seat to the heavily bandaged-up Nergal Jr, Mandy over the line being able to hear the disgusting faint squiggling that was the half-demon's covered eyes healing themselves.

"Any noticeable change since the doctors found that device stabbed into his stomach and sent it up to the lab?"

"Not a thing. And wit what Junior told us about de ragdoll slave dey made yer old teacher into, I've been payin' great attention."

"Keep at it." Mandy ordered easily as the ship onscreen didn't seem to be in much of a hurry to get at them. "Whatever these assholes are up to, I'm in no mood to give them any openings, and I'm certain that they've had some way to learn from Pandora and Jack O'Lantern's failure."

"Never thought I'd be happy dat Daniela ran away from home again." Grim commented before his wife ended the communication, needing to focus on whatever the hell was about to happen.

"Yeah, well…let's make this an interesting story to tell her while she's grounded for a year when she comes back." Mandy remarked to no one in particular.

* * *

Drax could barely contain his impish glee as he watched Castle Grimskull slowly become larger in the distance. "God, this must be how sports fans feel on game day, only we'll actually be doing something worth our time." He chuckled, still admiring many of the improvements he'd made to the _Still Impressive's_ controls.

"Is everyone in place?" Morg asked as he approached the mad scientist.

"Yes, yes." Drax waved off the question uncaringly. "All the troops are in the weapon's bay, along with the general, whom I'm pretty sure couldn't get down there fast enough. The emergency reserves are in the cooler. BEMJ is all hooked up. Eris is…"

Both men looked over to the armchair in the corner of the observation deck, where Eris sat laid back with a copy of Evil Monthly draped over her face, loudly snoring away.

"…Being overall civil about her predicament." Drax continued. "And I've sent a message out to Empheles to come back to us as soon as possible, no matter what. This is far more important than retrieving the samurai's body."

"Personally, I would have preferred for him to be here when we send the first wave out." Morg remarked to the other villain. "With the exception of the general, we are basically just sending out a bunch of cannon fodder to make the first strike."

Drax smiled smugly as he pushed his sliding glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Well, while I would have enjoyed personally seeing my little pet project show off the upgrades I spent hours giving him, the Boogieman was quite insistent that this could likely be our best chance and thus we should take it immediately."

"Which is an easy thing for him to say, given he doesn't actually have to be here for this." Morg pointed out dryly.

"Oh, what's life without a little risk?" Drax chuckled happily.

"You do realize you are talking to a Grim Reaper, however alien, yes?" The Daedalus program inside Drax's glove chimed in tonelessly.

With a raised eyebrow, Morg commented "You know what I like the most about zombie servants? They can't talk back to you."

"Well then, you don't know the fun you're missing out on, my dear Morg." Drax told him, unbothered by the A.I.'s sass. "Just like with Empheles, it's so much more enjoyable when they have to do what you want regardless of what they want."

Almost hearing the program give a sigh, Morg was somewhat impressed that the little human troll seemed to be more twisted than most actual Underworld beings he knew. It didn't make him like the freak much more, but it did make him happy that wrapped thinking was being aimed at his own enemies.

"I take it you have news for us, Daedalus." Drax asked into the communicator housing the intelligence. "You hardly ever speak when you don't have to."

"Indeed." It responded, the faux Russian accent holding a hint of frustration despite the near-monotone speech. "The general sends word. Everyone has boarded the shipment containers. He's just waiting for the signal."

"As are we all, Daedalus. But if the previous call was of any indication, we should be seeing it rather soon." Drax smiled, barely able to contain his anticipation.

* * *

"…Hey, Rob?" The skeleton scientist casually looked over to the head researcher.

"Yeah, Al?" Robertson answered back, dividing his attention between his subordinate and the tank that contained the rest of Lantern's mutilated remains, making more notes onto his clipboard.

"You ever think about how weird our lives are?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, we're scientists, right?"

"Some of best. That's why the queen has us working in her labs."

"Right, but we are also walking, talking, reanimated skeletons." Albert pointed out. "By our logic and scientific reasonings, we shouldn't even exist."

"But clearly we do. We can see and feel as much. As much as we don't understand how our existence works, we clearly can't declare it as impossible since it is happening."

"Right, right, it's just…some odd thinking I've had lately. Our task to conduct scientific and logical studies while at the same time our meatless bodies are held together by some unknown magical force we can't even see. There just feels to be some great cosmic irony there, you know?"

"I think you need to start letting others mix the chemicals for a while. Stuff is messing with your head." Robertson assured his friend with a pat on the back as the lab doors slide open and Lord Pain entered.

"I find that unlikely, yet fascinating if it's true." Albert remarked back, though setting aside the matter as the knight that approached was the superior officer of both of them.

"Lord Pain." Robertson saluted once face-to-face, Albert following suit.

"You informed the queen earlier that you found a device within the cyborg's body that did not appear to be a natural part of his robotics, yes?" Lord Pain instantly asked the head researcher, slightly impatient but in control of his tone nonetheless. "I'd like to see it."

"Hm? Oh, yes, of course, sir." Robertson said with a bow before motioning him to follow him and Robertson to the workbench of another skeleton. "From what Andrew here has been able to find out, it's just as the queen suspected. It's of a very similar design to what was pulled out of General Nergal." The skeleton explained as Andrew moved aside to show the two small square devices sitting on the table along with various tools, both no larger than the average cell phone. "They don't appear to be giving off any sort of signals, either to each other or to the outside. And the labs are specially sealed off so that signals from outside can't get in either, so if they are bombs or some odd type of transforming drone they can't be remotely activated. Though most curiously, the design of the two devices seems to indicate that they can be connected to each other." Robertson remarked, showing the knight the matching yet opposite ports and plug-in on each device's front. "We still don't know what their purpose is yet, as we are advising as much caution as appropriate to keep from risking the queen to her enemies. And obviously we are not just going to connect them to find out what they do. It's such a curious mystery. Is this all just a distraction? How were they hoping to get the devices togeth-!"

Robertson's prattle was silenced by the sudden smack of a cudgel. The skulls of Albert and Andrew quickly found themselves sharing the same shattered fate. The noise had alerted the rest of the laboratory's staff, all the skeletons turning from their workstations in time to see Lord Pain standing over the three fallen bodies, wordlessly picking out the devices and clicking them in place together.

The sudden pulse was so strong that even the blue-clad knight found himself knocked back. It hit like an explosion, but it wasn't that. It was like a wave hit everything and soon everything went dark. The lights went out, leaving only the momentary sparks from the frying computer equipment to give off any sort of illumination before leaving everything in pitch darkness.

* * *

Nergal Jr's heartrate on the monitor went silent, by Grim could still feel through his soul's presence that he was alive. The fluorescents overhead soon went out too, leaving only the light of the Underworld sky coming in through the window.

"Hm. Well…dat can't be good."

* * *

"We've lost all power!" Several of the skeletons in the control room yelled in a panic to their queen.

"More than that. All our equipment's been shorted out!" Another told the others, having opened up a panel in the controls, thankfully getting some light from the glowstone embedded in the walls for just this sort of emergency.

Mandy scowled so hard she was amazed her teeth weren't biting through her tongue. "Damnit. That was an EMP." She swore, recognizing a smaller scale version of what she'd seen the nuke tests cause back in the mortal realm. "Everything with an electronic circuit is fucked! It's useless!"

"We have no communication with the rest of the castle or visual on the alien ship!"

"It's worse than that, you idiot!" Mandy snarled at them. "The castle's shields are down!"

* * *

Even from this short distance away, Drax could see Grimskull go dark outside the window and the turrets on the mountain go limp. "There's your signal, general." He remarked toothily into the communicator as Daedalus patched him through.

The mad scientist could almost hear the general barely resisting the urge to burst out in triumphant laughter.

"FIRE!"

From the _Still Impressive_ 's front launched hundreds of torpedoes, drill heads at their points rapidly spinning in the air before they found their target in the walls of the castle, turning the once impenetrable fortress into a pincushion.

* * *

The torpedo aimed at the right section came bursting in through the metal and brickwork of the wall of the control room, everyone within flee towards the exit, save for Mandy, whom stood composed and unmoving as the truck-sized projectile skidded and screeched across the floor. The drill's tip came within an inch of the space between the queen's eyes before all the friction caused its momentum to cease and stop completely right before her.

After a small moment of silence, a hiss was heard as pressure from within the torpedo was released. Right at its point, the drill split seamlessly apart, the two halves swinging out into the walls around the hole it'd created and opening up to show the dark hollow chamber that was inside.

"…Braaaains…" The low moan was heard from within. "Brains…" It continued, the clump of boots on metal joining in as a figure lumbered unnaturally forward.

Like with the alien Reaper who had enslaved it, the creature's unsightly long brain poked out through the top of its skull, and it's green, rotting skin and muscle seeming just about as alive. Slowly, even more of the creature's dead-eyed brethren came stumbling out in a crowd, all wearing the same short red uniform and beggingly moaning the same single word. "Brains…"

"Martian zombies." Mandy remarked evenly as the hoard of the undead came at her with reaching arms. "What, were Nazi vampires too original for you?"

The first zombie that'd emerged was finally close enough to try and lunge at the queen, his hand naturally going for her head first. Mandy responded to this tactic by ripping the zombie's arm off by the shoulder and then quickly stabbing it downward through its head. The first of them now kicked rudely to the side, still moving but too damaged to coordinate itself properly, a large group of zombies ran forward to attack her together while the others pulled out their phaser guns from their belts.

"I see they've made you screwheads a little faster than you used to be." Mandy commented as she leapfrogged over two zombies to swiftly kick the head off a third. "That's fine. I could use the exercise."

The zombies opened fire, sending multiple lasers to try and touch upon her seamlessly dodging form. Reaching behind her to grab one of zombies she'd jumped over by its upper jaw, Mandy ripped the upper half of its head right off, showing off her above average strength as even rotting flesh wasn't that easy to tear. Spinning to avoid a few more beams of energy, Mandy threw the half-head forward at one laser-bolt coming right for her. The shot hit dead-on, splattering the zombie's brains everywhere. But the move had also allowed Mandy the few seconds she needed to get in close, smashing her fist into the shooter's face while her other hand yanked his gun away.

With not a moment wasted, Mandy used her newly gained phaser to blow apart the zombie's midsection, before then turning to the rest of them. Almost faster than the eye could see, the queen fired off one shot after another, rapidly blowing all the zombies apart before they could even move to pull back on their own triggers. A few seconds later and Mandy could smell the burning singe coming from inside the phaser's energy pack, the cheap weapon not designed to give off so many shots at once and going dead. But that was fine. Pieces of the zombie hoard's hands and heads still squirmed on the floor, relentlessly trying to get at her, but it would a little difficult to try and eat her brain when they couldn't get up past her ankles.

"And this is why I prefer to work with skeletons as my disposable foot soldiers." Mandy said as she tossed the useless gun away, deliberately stepping on a bloodshot eye staring up at her so she could crush it beneath her heel. "They don't leave as much of a damn mess."

There was then a familiar click behind her head. One of a Luger pistol, through modified by the sound of it for more modern usage.

"I'm happy to see that age has not slowed your step any, _commander_." Said the man sadistically whom held the gun to the back of her skull.

The voice and the use of that title were instantly recognizable, and the gunman seemed he had no intention of hiding who he was either, as he made no motion to pull the trigger when Mandy turned her head to confirm her suspicions. Her two red eyes met his blind left one, seeing the lightning-shaped scar running from it down his cheek.

"Reginald Skarr." Mandy said his name, almost tempted to smirk at his appearance in all this. "Now this is just adorable."

"GENERAL Skarr is my name!" Skarr bellowed at her with such distain despite his devilish grin still slapped across his face. "A ranking you seemed to have forgotten why I earned when you demoted me and tossed me aside!"

"Seems like kind of a pathetic reason for throwing a coop, Reginald." Mandy remarked evenly, being somewhat amazed the man's old blue military uniform still fit him after all this time.

"Oh, please. I've seen you force people to shoot their own parents for less than what you did to me." Skarr retorted back. "It was actually one of the things I admired most about you. I truly believed in the Reich you'd been establishing right under all the superheroes' noses. We were on track to actually conquer the world! But then, not only did you unceremoniously replace me with a half-demon brat whom had never even led troops into battle before, but then you one day just up and vanish as mayor of Megaville! The pieces of your Reich get dissolved and sent who knows where, and years later I find out from your old enemies it was all because you moved down here!"

"I got a better offer than just the human world." Mandy said with a simple, uncaring shrug.

"Yes, yes. It's as you always said. You have to look out for number one. A lesson of your I've taken to heart." Skarr said as he kept the barrel trained on her.

"Number one is me, dipshit, and the fact that I didn't have you killed after I fired you should have been enough of a gift for your years of service." Mandy reminded him, her tone barely threatening, but Skarr knew that was because she hardly ever felt anyone was worth that measly effort.

"As we can quite clearly see, it wasn't. As you'll fee-"

Skarr's words were interrupted by a quite abrupt BANG; Mandy having pulled out one of her own pistols and instantly turning to put a bullet through the general's head.

Skarr's body crumpled to the floor, his splattered blood staining the wall. "I hate having to deal with ex-employees." Mandy quipped darkly as she blew the smoke out of the barrel of her gun. "It always gets so awkward."

Pulling out her other pistol and reminding herself to punish all the skeletons who ran off later when she had the time, Mandy figured she'd better get a move on, as it was doubtful this had been the only torpedo filled with zombies.

But before she could leave, Mandy found herself paused by the familiar sound of restructuring bone. Turning back around, she saw Skarr get back up to his feet, picking up his fallen hat and putting it back atop his bald head with deliberate dignity.

"Amazing the results that can be yielded when you let a mad scientist and an alien Reaper perform experimental surgery on your body." Skarr happily quipped, wiping the blood away from his forehead with a cloth from his pocket to show the hole had completely healed up. "You didn't really think I'd come at you head-on without taking some kinds of precautions, did you?"

"Well, generally I tend to assume everyone other than me is an idiot and I've yet to be proven wrong."

"Quite." Skarr remarked drolly. "Though speaking of idiots, I'm sure you're just dying to know how our alliance is controlling so many zombies at once."

"I honestly don't care. Zombies always seemed a bit below my level." Mandy told him, no ego, just simple honesty in her words.

"Hrm…on that, I actually almost feel the same way." Skarr told her, reaching into his jacket but nowhere where he'd be keeping another gun, Mandy noted. "But we were on a budget and had to make do with what we had. And fortunately," He continued, pulling out, to Mandy's raising eyebrow, a cell phone and turning it on. "We found someone who could make our zombies a sound investment and who hated you enough to help us make it so."

The live video feed came on as the call went through. It was clearly to her enemies' ship, as the room shown well matched Irken design and aesthetic choice. But it wasn't the person on the other end Mandy noticed first. Though the varying sound quality of the phone, the queen could make out the beat of the music playing in the background of the room, sounding like drums and old strained trumpets. It was a tune she was almost certain she recognized.

It took Mandy another minute, but she did finally realize what she was looking at through the screen. Sitting in the center of the room, sitting directly under a large transparent half-dome that could only be Morg's Brain-caster, was a giant brain, nearly the size of a full-grown elephant. The lights coming off the machine it was attached to highlighted even more all the green slime that oozed out of the brain's various cracks and openings to cover its whole exterior, though the most disturbing feature of all this was the two tentacles formed out of the ooze to act as hands on the controls and a third, holding in place at its end a single large eye.

" _Well, well, if it's not a lie you're tryin' ta project, it's the little girl an idiot once tried to protect! You might think my appearance here is a little bit strange, but you won't think twice once you don't have a brain!_ " The giant brain sang along, both his words and tentacle waves in beat with his own music.

"You've…GOT…to be kidding me." Mandy said, just staring blankly at the small screen, her dumbfounded mind barely able to find the words at the bizarre dancing stupidity before her. "The Brain-Eating Meteor? Didn't I fry your brain when you ate mine?"

"Actually, that was his father." Skarr explained, absentmindedly tapping his foot along to the catchy theme. "Apparently his species reproduces asexually. He's the Brain-Eating Meteor Jr, or BEMJ as we've taken to calling him."

"I refuse to say that name on principle alone." Mandy stated bluntly.

"Since he's currently bound to the ship, he asked me to make sure you knew he was a part of this. …After he ate my brain, of course, which thankfully grew back." Skarr added on with a slightly sour note as he slid the phone back into his jacket. "Like his father, he's eaten the brain of enough idiots to have plenty of distracting thoughts to transmit to the zombies through the Brain-caster and keep them under control."

"I suppose they didn't want to risk another Billy." Mandy commented.

Skarr gave a shudder at the name. "Ugh. Just the idea…" He said in disgust.

"I hope you don't think a healing factor is all it takes for you to have a chance against me."

At that remark, Skarr simply smiled, before thrusting his gun forward at her. Mandy's head moved quickly to dodge the fired bullet, pulling up her own pistols to fire back. But with a practiced push of his hand, Skarr redirected her arms and got her shots to miss. Not one to leave herself open, Mandy made a jump to kick at the side of his head, immediately prompting Skarr to throw his forearm up to block the impact. He pushed his gun forward to fire again, this time at her face, but grabbing hold of his arm with her hands to give herself leverage, Mandy flipped the both of them over, landing hard on the floor before a series of kicks pushed them both apart and back to their feet.

"As I told you, commander, preparations." Skarr said to her, twirling his gun in his hand confidently. "I have studied and trained for years with just one goal in mind. To not just be another of your disposable lackeys, but to be your undeniable equal."

Mandy's eye gave a noticeable twitch. "Ohh, Skarr… That's a bad word to say to me." She said as she felt the magazines in his pistols grow heavy again, the magic ammo having refilled itself. Skarr found himself grinning madly, Mandy's malicious tone and glare making it clear she would not forgive him for such blasphemy.

* * *

It had taken them time, but a squad of skeletons led by a Tikbalang captain finally managed to fight through the hordes of undead littering the halls and make it into the laboratory.

"Lord Pain, are you alright?" The captain asked after forcing the depowered sliding doors open to get inside, seeing to his alarm that indeed a missile had broken its way through the opposite wall, spilling out numerous zombies. But to his relief, Lord Pain was still standing, seemingly unharmed. In fact, the zombies seemed to be oddly ignoring him, moving around where he blocked their path to go after the remaining scientists. Pulling out his axe and ready to do battle, the captain said to his commander "We've sent teams up to aid the queen and king, but it'll take a while to get to them from the barracks, especially with all the zombies blocking our path. We've just barely made it to you. Any idea on how we can get to the master quicker?"

Like a flash, the Tikbalang suddenly found his eyes smashed into the back of his head by a spiked metal ball. Blinded by the surprise attack done by his own superior, the captain stumbled around, hand covering his stinging, bloody face, and making him an easy target for the zombies who now noticed all the reinforcements.

"No one shall be the master of Lord Pain any longer!" The blue-clad knight stated, clutching the handle of his cudgel in strong determination as his flaring gold eyes watched the undead rip apart the Tikbalang down to the bone. As all the skeletons were still in too great of a shock by this impossible betrayal, Lord Pain took the initiative, pointing his weapon towards the castle's warriors. "Attack!" He commanded the zombies.

Finished with their meal as quickly as a swarm of piranhas, the Martian zombies did just that, at least three jumping upon every one skeleton and soon creating a massive clash of the undead, one which sadly the rotting corpses had the clear advantage. The skeletons had no flesh for the zombies to eat, but there was little they could do to fight back against the phaser fire and mindless strength of the horde that was aided by Pain himself, their collective efforts quickly crushing their bones and knocking aside their armor.

With their enemies defeated, the simple-minded zombies made a rush for the door, the orders fed into their brains by the BEMJ through the Brain-Caster, demanding that they slaughter everyone in Castle Grimskull.

But as soon as the first zombie poked its way out to doorway, it suddenly exploded.

"What?" Lord Pain uttered, that certainly getting his attention as something came bursting into the laboratory, attacking the zombies with quick single strikes before they popped like green paint-filled balloons.

Finally the enemy was upon him, who's snow-white hair and red cape flapped behind him in his great speed as he came through the cloud of dismembered zombie bits, his arm pulling back to deliver a powerful punch.

"Get the hell out of Charles!" Manny roared as he threw his fist forward, the brass knuckles covering his own almost sparking with ecto-electricity.

Moving fast, Lord Pain grabbed one of the many shields of the fallen skeleton knights littering the floor and threw it up between them to intercept Manny's attack.

But as soon as the two metals impacted, the green electricity flowing through the knuckles flashed suddenly and a powerful explosion resulted, throwing Lord Pain far back against the wall with what felt like the force of a cannonball.

Now would have been the perfect time to continue his attack, but the pained jolts going through both his hands after so many continuous attacks had forced Manny to halt himself, holding his shaking hand by the wrist as Lord Pain rose his sore body up from the floor.

"I'm surprised you figured out my deception so quickly, Manny." He complemented as he picked his cudgel back up, cracking his stiff neck to be more limber.

"I may not be a genius but I'm not stupid. And don't talk like you're really Charles!" Manny yelled at the knight, moving his fingers to keep them from going numb. "Charles never calls me or anyone in my family just by name if he can help it. It's always that master/young master crap. And it might have been a different color, but I saw his eyes glowing when he left the barracks, just like how mine and Daniela's were when we got possessed. You're one of the Sins, aren't you?!"

Like a phantom appearing out of the haze, even more ghostly than the halfa boy himself, a red-headed child with an annoyingly smug giggle floated beside Lord Pain's shoulder. _"Well, well. I guess even a loser can get something right every once in a while."_ The Sin mocked Manny as she adjusted her _Little Miss Scurvy_ sash to show off the title even more. _"Not that's it's going to help you much."_

"So, which one of the seven are you supposed to be?" Manny asked, wanting nothing more than to just leap into action but knowing he had to play this smart if he was going to save the knight, buying time until his hands felt well enough to attack again with full force.

" _Who else but the best one?"_ The Sin responded, batting her eyelashes as she flattered herself. _"I'm the always wonderous and eternally popular Pride, and exactly what this looooser needed to help himself stop being such a loser."_ She said, pointing her thumb at Lord Pain.

"My betrayal was inevitable, young Manny." He said, his voice an odd combination of half-hypnotized and half-overconfident Bond villain from one of the movies Mandy had made her children watch when they were younger. "Why should someone of my skills be servant to any master when I can be my own? I am Lord Pain for a reason, yes? And lords bow to no one."

"Give me a break, Charles! You saw what those things did to our family! What it made me do to Daniela! All it's doing is tricking you into serving another master!" Manny quickly pointed out, jabbing his finger at the Sin in accusation. "Come on, man. You have to snap out of it."

" _I don't know what he's talking about."_ Pride shook her head, smirking to herself as she floated by Pain's ear. _"With just a well-timed stab in the back, you've helped bring Mandy's entire kingdom in danger of collapsing. Who else but the great Lord Pain could do that? And this like boy, this little loser who came crying to you for help, dares to think he can stand in your way?"_

The gold in Lord Pain's eyes flared a shade brighter, showing the Sin's growing influence over him. "You will stand aside, child," He declared, pointing his cudgel forward in his declaration. "Or you shall know the true meaning of pain."

Manny's back stiffened slightly at those words. Even beyond seeing what the knight had done to Biceptor, whom he was helpless against, possession or no this was still Charles. He didn't want to have to fight him in a battle where either could risk killing either other.

" _But…if this is the only way…"_ Manny thought to himself as he clenched his fist, the previous pain subsiding for the moment. "I'm sorry about this, Charles." Manny told the knight sincerely. "But if the only way to get that Sin out of your head is to beat it out, then that's what I'm going to do!"

And with that declaration, Manny threw himself forward to attack.

Ready for the teenage ghost this time, Lord Pain rushed into the battle headfirst as well, using his slimmer frame to his advantage as he twisted to avoid Manny's first thrown fist. Seeing the opportune opening as Manny's momentum carried him past the knight, Lord Pain struck down with his cudgel to attack the boy's backside. But in a surprising move, Manny was able to move his closest hand back far enough to intercept the cudgel just in time. When the metal of the spiked ball struck the brass knuckles, electricity sparked again and another explosion pushed the two apart.

"I see… It's just like the Energy Ball exercise your teachers had you and your twin practice when you were younger." Lord Pain quickly deduced, staying on the attack as he fired multiple arrows from his crossbow to cover the sudden distance.

Using one of his hands to throw up a small energy shield to block the arrows instead of turning intangible, the knuckles on Manny's other hand started to spark with power again. "I took your earlier advice to heart." Manny reminded the knight before realizing he was running right at him and the arrows had only been a distraction. "I'm playing to my strengths and not yours. Quick, strong attacks so this fight doesn't go on as long as you'd like it to."

Dropping his shield, Manny went for the all-out offensive, throwing his fists to try and land just one solid hit upon Pain's person that he was certain would end the fight immediately. But as much of a natural brawler as Manny was, his style was very predictable and an experienced fighter like Lord Pain could easily see each punch coming and move to avoid them, the ghost teen's speed being the main point of concern.

"Your biggest problem with the technique was that you always poured in more energy than you could contain within your self-created sphere. Storing that energy in another solid object is actually a rather interesting way around that weakness." Lord Pain commented to Manny as he kept stepping back and away from his punches, leading the younger man around the lab. "You don't have to focus as much on containment and the moment contact is made the energy is released in a powerful kinetic burst. For a spur-of-the-minute new move, it does complement your style impressively well."

Manny threw his punch forward and Lord Pain used his palm to redirect the strong attack, sidestepping him and swinging his cudgel at the boy's side. Knowing he couldn't reach to stop it in time like before, Manny concentrated and forced that area of his stomach to go intangible, allowing the weapon to pass through him harmlessly. Hoping this was his opening, Manny quickly turned to try and hit the knight dead-on.

Lord Pain leapt up over the teen's head to avoid his blow, and too late did Manny realize what he'd been standing in front of, what Pain had been leading him towards.

Unable to stop in time, the metal of Manny's knuckles struck the cylindrical tank in the center of the room, the green energy sparking through the liquid inside and Lantern's remains before it all exploded, blasting Manny back with its force.

"But it is not without its heavy drawbacks." Lord Pain continued his remarks to Manny as he landed on his feet beside Lantern's legless and armless husk now on the glass-covered floor, Manny's attack having only added more to the number of the cyborg's missing pieces. Even someone far less skilled in studying his opponent's weaknesses would be able to see it now. Even as Manny fumbled to get up even to his knees, the hand that'd thrown the punch was twitching and shaking quite badly. "You may not be on the receiving end but you are still taking some of the brunt of your own explosions. Whether or not you actually hit your opponent, you are still getting hurt. You're practically guaranteeing you'll lose if you don't end the fight in the first few hits."

Manny gave a sudden jump as Lord Pain slammed his cudgel down into Lantern's body, it taking his fearfully panicked mind a second recognize that the knight had not attacked him. He could almost swear he heard the remains moaning in pain when the weapon broke through the metal shell, and when Pain pulled it back out, the spiked ball was coated in some fine green dust.

"I will say this only once more, boy." Lord Pain declared to him, Manny giving a small wince at being called such. "You cannot defeat me. You are a child beneath my notice and I feel no need to waste my superiority on you any longer than I must. So stand aside."

The words stung, partly because Manny was very tempted to do just that. His hands felt like they had knives jabbed into them, while Charles, even with no powers whatsoever, felt like trying to fight the ocean; bigger than he could ever hope to be and his every attempt to push against him proving more and more futile.

Still… Slowly forcing his hand to curl back into a fist, Manny swallowed his fear and doubt and blasted forth a beam of ecto-energy at the knight before he could risk himself running away. Almost with a sigh, Lord Pain charged forward, his rapid boots barely making a sound as he easily ran past the blast and kept out of its reach. Cutting off the beam, Manny tried instead for a volley attack, throwing several smaller energy blasts at Pain like softballs. But again, Pain was too quick for him, falling over on his back to slide across the floor and between Manny's legs.

Remembering how Charles had gotten Biceptor to fall during their fight, Manny correctly predicted that Lord Pain's next attack would target the back or side of his knee, and thus turned intangible accordingly.

Manny never heard himself scream so loudly when the cudgel still connected, just barely overcoming the sickening snap that was heard. His power of flight being the only thing keeping him upright, Manny acted in desperation, doing exactly what he'd hoped to avoid lest he'd risk possibly killing the knight and summoned up his Ghostly Wail. But before even the first screech could be made, Lord Pain connected the cudgel with the teen's throat and jaw.

It was nothing short of a miracle that the spikes did not puncture his jugular but the impact still cost Manny his voice and a couple of teeth. The room spun around him and the next thing Manny knew he was on the ground again, coughing up green blood on the linoleum.

The fact that Lord Pain did not smash his skull in right then and there was ironically due to Pride's influence, the Sin still whispering in his ear and telling him to rub his victory in his opponent's face. "The cyborg's Specter Deflector was powered by an Ecto-ranium core." He said as he pointed at the green powder coating his weapon. "The device itself was fried in the EMP, but it took an entire planet of ghosts to keep the same substance from not breaking their intangibility. Needless to say, it certain is more than enough for you."

Manny tried to get up, he truly did. But the pain of his hands and now his leg were making it too difficult to concentrate. Looking behind himself, it was not a pretty sight. His knee was bending the wrong way. His vision blurred slightly, but not from blood loss. He was truly just in too much pain to hold back all to swelling tears.

"Your attempt to change in tactics was wise, but pathetic." Lord Pain kicked the boy while he was down, almost tempted to do so literally too. "You're too stiff and set in your ways. You're incapable of truly adjusting your strategy in the middle of a battle. Because I told you earlier that a sword or an axe would not be the best weapon for your style, you haven't tried using any of the many the fallen guards have left scattered across the floor. But since your new move has a rebound effect whenever you strike something, storing that energy into something with a handle that keeps your hand at a safe distance away would actually be a great improvement. But you didn't think of that did you, boy? Because you are a failure. And it would seem not even someone as great as I could change that."

Slowly but surely, Manny's body gently floated back up to his feet, the toes of his non-broken leg tapping upon the floor to help him regain some sense of balance. "…I remember what mom said about the Sins. That evil is just something that exists in people and all they do is help bring out what's buried." He said to Lord Pain, his face slightly grimacing as he fought through the pain moving was causing him. "Maybe Pride is making you exaggerate how you feel about me or maybe it's the complete truth, but I know at least some of it has to be as real as all the anger I felt with Daniela when Wrath possessed me. But either way…it doesn't change the fact that I keep making stupid mistakes that I shouldn't be. I'm really sorry, Charles, that I've been letting you down throughout this entire fight."

Manny looked down at his right hand. There was a significant bit of bruising going on around his actual knuckles and the sides of his palm, proof of his vain attempts throughout this entire battle to even lay a hand on the knight.

"I'm nowhere near as strong as Junior. I know I can't just destroy the Sin that's possessing you. I haven't even tried to overshadow you and see if I can wake you up because I'm too afraid of a Sin bringing out the worst in me again. And I'm not smart enough to figure out how to get you to feel something other than what Pride is bringing out in you, like mom did against Lust. The only thing I have left that I can try is what dad did, to get you to put all that pride into something else." Manny clenched his fist tight as he could, the motion feeling like a stab through his palm but he didn't waver, bringing the ecto-energy coursing through the knuckles with more ferocity than any of his previous attempts. "I'll make you proud of me, by kicking your ass and winning this fight!" He declared in high determination.

"By putting in even more effort to an already fruitless move?" Lord Pain questioned with a scoff as he watched the knuckles continue to charge. He shook his head in disappointment, which only made Pride smirk more. "I wasted my time with you."

"Then come at me and get me to stop!" Manny yelled, using his other hand to fire a single shot at the knight.

With a single swing of his Ecto-ranium covered cudgel, Lord Pain smacked the energy blast out of his way, running forward just as he saw the stumbling Manny attempting the same, floating at him as fast as his tired injured body could push him, fist pulled back in preparation to be thrown, just like all his other attacks.

" _One strike and it's all over. Lord Pain stands victorious."_ Pride whispered in the knight's ear as he ran, pulling back his weapon as well and taking aim at Manny's head.

The knuckles he wore now flared so fiercely that Manny could feel its back burning into the skin of his hand as he pushed forward. He'd built up more power than he had in any of his previous punches, but he knew it was ultimately pointless as an actually attack. Charles had proven time and again throughout this fight that he was fast enough to avoid Manny's simpler strikes and his throat was still too hurt to attempt something wider like the Ghostly Wail again. This was all he could think to do.

" _I am too stupid to fight like how I should. Like how you've been trying to teach me. I know that, and I know I'm nowhere near your level. I know I can't beat you in a head-to-head fight."_ Manny thought out to Lord Pain as the golden, glowing eyes beneath that helmet grew closer and closer. _"But if nothing else…! There is one lesson you and Junior finally managed to beat into my thick skull!"_ The ghost boy bared his gritted teeth, moving his arm and changing its position, to Lord Pain's slight surprise, to prepare for an uppercut instead of a head-on punch.

" _He really is such a loser!"_ Pride laughed mockingly at the tactic, not seeming to notice Pain was somewhat cautious of whatever Manny was doing. _"A punch is a punch! Does he really think you won't be able to avoid it just because it's coming at you a different way?"_

Even hearing that, Manny still kept on his charge, keeping his hold tight on the metal knuckles even as he felt his real ones blister and bleed. _"Play to what works for me. Not my opponent."_ Manny's mind echoed Junior's words, ones that Charles actions had only reinforced time and again. _"If I can't beat you in a fight, then I'll stop fighting, and force you to do the same!"_

"IMPAAAAAAAAACT!"

With a roar of unwavering resolution, Manny threw his punch with all his might.

Pride was right, it was just as easy for Pain to avoid the attack as any of Manny's others. But just as the knight began his swing at the ghost's head, Lord Pain realized Manny hadn't been aiming at him.

The energy barely contained within the metal knuckles took everything Manny had to keep from going out of his control. And now, with the jerk that came at the end of his uppercut, the unstable power finally broke the seal and came erupting out as pure kinetic force.

The cudgel's swing was knocked back and Pain's helmet flew off his head as the power ripped through the air itself, the knight barely able to even stay standing as all the pressure of the laboratory seemed to launch collectively upwards, following Manny's punch and blasting through the ceiling as a single condensed wave.

And it didn't stop there. Through floor after floor of the castle, brick and mortar was blasted apart every room above the lab, shaking every level of the fortress through the sheer force of Manny's attack.

* * *

After another exchange of near point-blank gunfire, the barrels of their opponent's guns steaming just beside their ear as they stared death into each other's eyes, Many and Skarr finally gave a pause, feeling the approaching rumble beneath their feet.

"What in the blazes?!" Skarr yelled as the floor at their feet rapidly cracked and splintered before exploding open, knocking both fighters apart from each other. It was only due to how many other levels the blast had traveled through that the kinetic energy had been lessened enough not to blow them apart as well, as it'd done with a few unfortunate zombies and skeletons along the way here.

The rippling wind cracked open the ceiling above them, but that seemed to be all the power it'd had left in it. With that, every bit of rubble and debris that'd been knocked skyward finally came tumbling back down, Mandy and Skarr now going for a ride as the floor further collapsed beneath them and they fell to the other levels.

* * *

Seven levels. It'd had to have been at least that many Manny's attack had gone through, just given all the bursts through stone the knight had heard.

His head uncovered by his beloved helmet, Lord Pain didn't seem to even notice. Even Pride floated in speechless shock, joining Pain in just staring up at the massive hole in the ceiling the boy had somehow found the strength to create.

"GAH!" Manny yelped in agony, finally snapping Lord Pain's senses back to focus as he fell to his intact knee. His hand was practically purple from all the heavy bruising and his arm was visibly broken in at least three different places, hanging almost lifelessly at his side as it heavily bled.

"Young master!" The words of worry left Lord Pain's mouth before he even realized he said them, one of his eyes dimming to return to its normal brown color. He immediately tried to run to the ghost's aid, but Pride jumped in front to block his way.

" _What do you think you're doing?! You don't care about him! He's a nothing! A loser!"_ She shrieked in his face.

"But… But he's hurt." Lord Pain gestured almost pleadingly to Manny. His still golden eye, the one on the side of the ear she'd been whispering into, gave a few pained twitches, like it was trying to push the glow out.

Pride scowled heavily at the knight daring to try and fight off her influence. She nearly started yelling at him again, but then all of their attentions were averted to the rumbles of heavy, falling debris from above.

Manny smiled, happy both that his plan had worked and for what Charles had just called him. young master, showing he could still come back to his old self.

"The castle isn't made of Ecto-ranium." He remarked with a smirk to Lord Pain and Pride as the first few tiny pellets of stone rained down. "I can phase through what's coming. I'm pretty sure you can't." As the first of several large chunks of concrete-coated rebar smashed down into the laboratory, Manny simply turned entirely intangible while Pain had to quickly duck and roll to avoid it. "I promise to come dig you out when this is all over, Charles. I'm really hoping this won't be enough to kill you." He said as he finally, with great effort, started to float up and away from the lab.

Using his cudgel to try and break apart all the rubble that now came down in massive chunks at him, the side of Lord Pain's face that'd regained its brown eye nearly have a proud smirk.

Pride was not quite as happy. _"You little piece of-!"_ She screamed at Manny before her words became muffled by all the debris that closed up and collapsed into the laboratory.

* * *

Another swing of his scythe and another zombie found itself with its head and body cut vertically down the middle.

"Bah. I'd almost forgotten how much I hate de living dead." Grim remarked grumpily as he kicked away more of the dismembered hands that kept grabbing at his robe. "Walkin' around all dead but alive. Makin' a mockery of me job."

The skeleton nurses backing him up looked over at Grim, hurt by his remarks.

"Not you, ya boneheads. De fleshy ones!"

The zombie hoard was now coming at them from two different angles. One from the torpedo that'd burst through the outside wall, and the other from the infirmary's doorway, the emergency barricade having long been busted through by the hungry masses coming from other parts of the castle. Given that it was only Grim and a few of the remaining skeleton doctors standing protectively around Nergal Jr's hospital bed, it was pretty clear who's brain they wanted to eat. Grim was almost tempted to let them, but the zombies were after all of them anyway and the possibility of a grey matter meal seemed to keep them distracted well enough to keep the stupid things from immediately going right for the people actually fighting back against them.

Still, the zombies had numbers on their side, and no matter how small Grim cut or blasted them into pieces, all the various bits just kept coming, trying to impede or harm the small group any way they could.

"Been a while since I've used dis thing in a fight." Grim remarked about his scythe as another bolt from its tip blew another zombie into a stain on the wall, only for more to spill out of the narrow doorway. "Wish I remembered how ta get a bigger blast goin'."

The Grim Reaper gave a jump as then, from the bed behind him, two green blasts of energy shot out, one at the zombies in the doorway, blasting them to mush, and the other at the doorway's top, collapsing the opening and cutting off at least that way into the room.

Turning around while the skeleton servants were now free to focus their efforts on the zombies coming out of the torpedo, Grim saw that it was indeed Nergal Jr whom had fired the shots, his arm having shapeshifted into a rather impressive sci-fi gun. His aim being so accurate despite the bandages over his still-healing eyes was most impressive, though given the half-demon's pained tremors and shakes, Grim guessed it was taking everything he had just to stay sitting up in the bed after that risky move.

As his arm reverted to normal, causing the general to give a gasp of relief as he held the numb appendage with his other hand, Grim went over to help him. "Easy dere, man. Ya ain't dyin' yet so ya can quit it wit de drama." He said as he held Nergal Jr by the shoulder, mostly kidding as he supposed the man did just save them and he shoul give him at least a little break.

The general's head perked slightly at the sound of the Reaper's voice, turning his head to follow where it'd come from. "Grim? Is…is that you?" Nergal Jr asked with a slight tremble, his voice a half mix of hope and fear.

"Yeah, it's me. You're back in de castle. Aside from a few zombies and a home invasion, ya are mostly safe now." Grim assured him, though not to much effect, as the general started shaking his head, great panic bringing its way up to the surface.

"No, no, no. We're not safe. It's already too late!"

"What de heck are ya talkin' about? We can handle a few old enemies and some zombies easy."

"No, Grim! You don't get it!" Nergal Jr shouted at him, nearly fainting again back into the bed because of all the injuries covering his body. "I can't see them but I can feel them! I can sense them. All throughout the castle! They're everywhere!"

* * *

Mandy's feet slid controlled down another patch of rubble, coming to what seemed like a floor or two above where the blast had originated from, though all the various debris blocked the way any further down.

"Where the hell did that bastard go?" Mandy swore in mild irritation, having lost track of Skarr after they'd been separated. She kept her eyes sharp and scanning for any sudden movement, keeping her pistols primed in her hands for when either he or any of his minions would try and get the drop on her.

Finally, after a minute of searching, Mandy finally saw the shifting in the shadows of something coming down the short hall towards her. It was moving slow enough towards her to be a zombie, and thus Mandy stood ready to fire. But as soon as the figure came into the light from overhead, revealing his white hair and barely floating form, the queen instantly put her guns back down.

"…Mom." Was all Manny could manage to moan before he collapsed, getting a very quick reaction from Mandy as she rushed to him, helping her son before he hit the floor and getting him situated up against the wall.

Finally having a moment to feel safe enough to breathe thanks to her presence, Manny groaned and winced as Mandy helped him sit up. Given the state of his arm and that she'd found him down here, the queen was quick put things together.

"I take it you were the one who caused that blast?" Mandy asked him straightly, now noticing that his knee on the opposite side was pretty mangled too.

With some effort, Manny nodded. "Sorry." He almost immediately apologized as he looked up at the many holes he'd made in their home. "It was the only way I could think of to win…"

"Given you're still standing, I'd say you did." Mandy remarked to him, being surprisingly calm and understanding, Manny thought to himself. Looking around for a moment to see what was available, Mandy yanked a couple pieces of rebar out of the rubble pile, comparing each in size. "Manny, I need you to go human for me for a minute, okay?" She told him, a softer tone than usual likely because she knew it'd hurt to do so. "Your ghost form accelerates your recovery, but that'll mean nothing if the bones don't set right. I need to make you a splint first, alright?"

Really not wanting to do it because of how he could only imagine his sore body would feel as actual flesh, Manny took a gulp and gave his mother a nod, clamping his eyes shut tightly as he took a breath and the white halos passed over him, reverting him to human form.

With get care as to not cause the teen any more pain than he was already in, Mandy removed Manny's cape from him, using her teeth to rip apart the fabric into the sizes she needed.

As Mandy laid out the rebar along his leg, Manny talked just to get his mind off the stabbing feelings in his arm and knee. "It was Charles. He was possessed by one of the Sins from Pandora's box. Pride. She made him activate some kind of…bomb, or something, that knocked out all the power."

"I see." Mandy said, listening but still focusing mostly on getting the former cape properly wrapped around his leg and thigh, trying to make sure the rebar bracing wouldn't fall out. "Unfortunately, that sounds about right. Your father and I were wondering if we'd really gotten all the Sins, since he and I only had to deal with Lust, Greed, and Gluttony and Junior took care of the others. Speaking of which, what did Pride look like?" She asked, encouraging Manny to keep talking.

"Umm…kind of a little brat, to be honest. Orange or red hair and freckles, with a face and voice that just made you want to deck her." He answered, trying to recall some of the details of the transparent girl.

"Hm. Sounds oddly familiar." Mandy commented as she tore up more fabric in her teeth, moving on to his arm. "Sorry, this is going to hurt." She warned him as she needed to move the broken appendage at least somewhat to get the cloth around it. "Anything else about her?"

Wincing heavily as his arm spiked with sharp pain, Manny thought of the Sin more to keep his mind away from what was happening. "She…! She wore… Wore some kind of like, beauty pageant kind of sash. It said _Little Miss Survey_ or _Scurvy_ or something."

Mandy gave a small but noticeable pause, then went right back to work. "…Yeah, that figures." She muttered under her breath as she tied the cloth ends at his shoulder into a proper knot.

"Someone you know?" Manny asked.

"…Let's just say I can fully sympathize how much you wanted to deck her." Mandy said, her tone putting an end to that conversation, but standing up to show that her efforts were thankfully done. Finally having the courage to look down at his body, Manny's arm was in a makeshift sling and the rebar and cloth brace around his leg, while not pretty to look at, would at least keep his knee from moving around too much. "You'll still be far better off getting checked out in the actual infirmary, but for now, this will have to do. Go ahead and go ghost, Manny."

Manny did just that, and while there was more discomfort in summoning the halos back, Manny's breath escaped him in a near instant show of relief, his return to ghost being like a shot of painkillers.

Stroking her chin in a small bit of pondering as she looked at her son and then their surroundings, Mandy then said "You should avoid flying to save your strength. So I'm going to carry you on my back and climb us both out of here to safety."

A small bit of embarrassed blush spread across Manny's cheeks. "Wha-! Wh- Wait, I can't do that!" He protested.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm… Mom, I'm sixteen."

"I know. Which means you can quit being a baby and get on my back." She all but ordered, her tone and stare making it clear to her son this was not up for debate, much to his dismay.

* * *

"I know de zombies are everywhere. What de heck are ya blubberin' about?" Grim asked Nergal Jr again, actually now starting to feel a little worried himself about how fearful the normally invincible general was acting.

* * *

The redness splashed all across Manny's face, along with his noticeable silence, made the humiliation he felt quite clear. Mandy held his legs securely in her arms while his good one was safely secured around her next in a position that wouldn't choke her.

"You ready?" Mandy asking, turning her head slightly to see his behind her.

"Promise me you'll never tell Daniela about this." Manny grumbled.

"I don't think Grim or I are capable of keeping that promise." Mandy joked dryly to him, still not smiling as she readied herself to get going.

But as she was about to take a step forward…

"Mom…"

"Yeah… I hear it too." She assured her son as the both of them looked around. Something… Several somethings by the sound of it, was skittering about and shifting around the rocks under the caved-in floor.

"Could it be Charles-?"

"Shh!" Mandy quickly silenced him, needing to listen. Whatever it was, it was coming up to the surface where they were, and since the rubble pile was barely being pushed around, it was coming up through the cracks in the rubble.

Her eye immediately shooting to the break in the pile, Mandy saw the single detached finger of a zombie crawl up through the small opening.

Slowly, more zombie bits made their way up to the surface. Be they from the undead that Manny had blown away back in the lab or simply the unfortunate few whom had fallen through the floor in his final attack, fingers, eyeballs, even a tongue or two emerged from below, all just as determined to keep moving as their intact bodies had been.

While Manny breathed a sigh of relief, as such small pieces were very unlikely to be able to harm them and eat their brains, Mandy noticed something peculiar. Even the zombies she'd taken apart before fighting against Skarr, those pieces stayed in a relentless pursuit of her, trying to do whatever they could to get at her while she was fighting, even if there was literally nothing they could do other than get stepped on.

But these pieces… They stayed where they were, almost seeming like they were waiting for the others to come up too.

And then, with no provocation, all the pieces started to just…dissolve, for lack of a better word, melting into a thick black ooze over the rubble.

* * *

To Grim's great start and the skeleton servants' as well, the doorway Nergal Jr had collapsed suddenly burst wide open, long black tentacles having acted as the battering ram.

With their path cleared, the zombies started to rapidly pour back into the room, but looking much different than before. Other than their red uniforms and now completely green, pupil less eyes, the bodies of every running zombie was turning completely black, seeming to increase their speed and power as they transformed.

"What in de hell?!" Grim screamed out as one zombie practically vomited up a mass of tentacles to try and ensnare him and the others. To which the Reaper barely reacted to in time, quickly slashing through them with his scythe.

* * *

Onboard the _Still Impressive_ , Drax and the Brain Eating Meteor Jr gave each other a proud high-five (or at least slapped hand to goo-appendage) and even Morg felt like joining into the celebration as he saw what was finally happening.

"Takes a while for the genetics to kick in. Those zombies having such lousy survival instincts." Drax chuckled impishly as he watched the monitors, seeing what BEMJ was seeing through the zombies' eyes as his creations terrorized the protectors of Grimskull. "But goodness, does it make for a fun turn in the drama."

* * *

The rubble pile exploded upwards as a large single mass, the black goo holding everything together as it absorbed more and more debris into itself. As mother and son stood speechless as they watched what was before them grow, at least six different pairs of eyes opened up across the black-bodied surface, staring back down at them as a large seam opened up in the creature's belly. Given the rows of rock taking the place of teeth, this was quite clearly its mouth, made even more apparent by what it did next.

" **BRRRRAAAAAIINNNNNNSS…!"** The creature roared, its one voice sounding like several.

"Oh…" Manny started.

"Shit." Mandy finished.

* * *

"They didn't take my eyes because they thought they'd get my powers." Nergal Jr yelled to Grim as the Reaper and the skeletons who obeyed him slashed, shot, and blasted at every single thing at least thrice over that moved at them, barely holding their own as the hordes just kept coming. "They took my eyes and tortured me so they could collect my DNA! Because they couldn't find my father's tomb!"

Nergal Jr's head jerked in every direction, feeling almost paralyzed by the moans and shrieks the zombies gave off, like some twisted version of the language instinctually knew from birth.

"They're not just zombies, Grim! They're Nergals!"

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** I'm feeling a bit under the weather this week, thus the lateness of this chapter. So next week's chapter is likely going to be delayed until the week after. Like I said before, I'm going to do what I can so that there won't be more than a week or two week wait between chapters and I intend to hold myself to that. But still, I do apologize for no likely uploads next week, as I do still prefer weekly uploads to bi-weekly.

But anyway, this chapter has another two villains from the original _Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy_ cartoon. One of my favorites, General Skarr, and the Brain Eating Meteor, or at least his son whom was reproduced asexually (gross).

How did Mandy get her body back after the original BEM ate her brain and she took over his mind, you ask? Well, you see… Um…..

Anyway, now we know the real reason the villains let the Grim family have Nergal Jr back, other than just to taunt them and Junior. It was to sneak inside a device that matched one hidden deep inside Lantern's own body that, when put together, would trigger an EMP. But given that Pandora and Lantern's actions were the result of going against orders and basically betraying the other villains because they didn't want to wait to get their revenge on Grim and Mandy, the EMP devices shouldn't have been part of the plan to get into Grimskull? Is there another plan we haven't seen yet? Or have the Boogieman and the God of Magic really plotted things out that far ahead? Only time and more chapters) will tell.

As some _My Hero Academia_ fans might suspect, Manny's new move of an explosive kinetic burst through a charged-knuckled punch is partly inspired as a combination of Midoriya's and Bakugo's powers, with Manny's final attempt to beat Pain taking inspiration right from those characters' first real fight in the anime. The backlash Manny receives is certain inspired by those powers, as even with as skilled as he is with his explosive quirk, the manga makes it clear Bakugo can hurt himself quite badly if he overuses his power more than his body can take.

* * *

 **QTP:** Did the villain alliance's plan include Pride corrupting Lord Pain or did they just get lucky? How did Pain/Pride even know connecting the two devices would trigger an EMP? How will Manny overcome the drawbacks of his new move? Where did General Skarr go and what's he up to now? Is Lord Pain going to be okay? And if the Nergal-zombies are only the first wave, what's the second?


	26. Three hours ago, part 2

**Part 26: Three hours ago, part 2**

 **DPSS:** Well, I haven't really addressed it much yet in-story because the only ragdoll we've seen so far other than Minnie has been Samurai Jack (and there will be more ragdolls later, trust me). But in how souls in this story work I'm kind of borrowing _Fullmetal Alchemist_ rules here. Basically, when a soul is placed into a body other than its original, the connection between the two eventually breaks down, generally to some negative backlash to the soul.

When a person is born (or aborted, in Junior's case), they start off with basically a blank soul, which grows and develops through that person's experiences, emotions, and overall life. This is why when an infant or an unborn child dies in this universe, it's a very simple matter of reincarnating them, as there's practically nothing there. The soul develops along with the body, thus why it's hard to push a soul into another body because it's been molded for lack of a better word to fit their original body. When Minnie was made into a ragdoll, they used her original body, just slightly modified to fix it up after the Pumpkinator ripped her apart. If they wanted to make Minnie a new body, they'd have to take apart her current body and heavily modify it, which as I had in my _Grim and Minnie_ oneshot, is not an easy thing to do and has a high risk of failure, as at that point her soul has been taken out of her body twice and with each time having less and less of her original body to go back to. Theoretically, they could just clone Minnie multiple times and have her inhabit one body after another until one wears out, but having the body and soul reject each other, especially multiple times, can start stripping away at the soul, wasting away at who that person was until it eventually might not even be that person anymore, which is certainly not something the family wants to happen to Minnie.

Plus, while it varies from soul to soul, most souls don't tend to stay connected with a body that's not their original for that long, really depending on that soul's will and sense of self. That's actually why the majority of Grimskull servants are skeletons and not say walking suits of armor. Decayed as they might be, those enslaved souls are still in their original bodies. And as for why Sally from _Nightmare Before Christmas_ is doing just fine in her ragdoll body is because she also was a blank soul. She had no life before being placed into that patchwork body, so her soul didn't reject it.

Sorry, I'm rambling, and like I said, it'll get addressed more when more ragdolls pop up in the story, but for now, the basic reason why Minnie's family hasn't made an adult body for her to inhabit is because there's a high risk of her soul rejecting it and it stripping away at her being until she's not the person they knew before. Now, as for why they don't just give her some heavy cyborg modifications like what Dexter did to himself or what the villains did to Jack O' Lantern, that's more of a personal choice by Minnie.

1.) Fair point and Pride could only really possess someone with enough hidden pride for her to draw out. Mandy is already a prideful and wrathful person, thus why Pride and Wrath would have no effect on her.

2.) To an extent.

3.) More like trial by fire, sadly for him.

4.) Whaaaat? Noooo…

5.) I do worry, mostly because I know the kinds of shit I'm putting all these characters through. If Grim Jr were real, I'm pretty sure he'd hate my guts.

6.) I'm writing that wizardbots thing down for possible future use. That sounds amazing.

 **neverendingZero:** I'd argue Mandy is more the person with the apex predator, as you'll see (hee). Everything else is a spoiler risk, save for that Junior will find a way to get involved somehow. And no, Nergal Jr doesn't know about Timmy. He was a little too busy being tortured and cut to focus that much on what was going on around him. I am glad you think I did a good job with Manny and Mandy. With how cold I made her in Empire of Death, I was afraid I gave people the impression I didn't like Mandy or that I thought she didn't care at all about her kids.

 **Valtek:** Thank you. As a hint, the next surprise hits really hard and squeaks.

 **Major144:** Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate your understanding.

 **Guest:** Thank you.

 **nightmaster000:** At the risk of spoilers, Olga and Gaz are not part of the alliance. After Mandy dissolved her Reich, they went on to do their own thing. Despite Skarr's ambitions and trying to overthrow Hector Con Carne, he is more of a follower than a leader, at least in comparison to Mandy and her old actual friends. The general commands the troops but he's always had someone to order him, while Olga and Gaz could just move on with their lives.

1.) More the circumstances one. I like intelligent villains, but having them plan too far ahead for every eventuality can be a little ridiculous sometimes.

2.) The latter, as otherwise Mandy would have just had the devices destroyed if she knew what they were.

3.) Distance might not hurt either, like Pain said. Though thankfully ghosts do heal slightly faster than humans, though nowhere near as fast as Junior, Mandy, and Skarr can.

4.) Though that does leave open the question: what is that hidden goal they can only accomplish by attacking Castle Grimskull?

5.) Yeah, Manny kind of did a number on him.

6.) Yep, and the third is even worse.

 **Guest:** I am working on the next chapter of LBL, but I don't know how soon it'll be, as those chapters are generally longer and Complex is taking something of a priority just because it's been around longer. But my love of superheroes does encourage me to keep working on the story, so hopefully not too far off in the future.

* * *

 **CHAPTER START**

"There's too many of them! We can't break through!" The skeleton knight cried out as he and his brothers fought back to back with few the Tikbalangs that'd not yet been eaten.

"We have to!" The horse-headed captain declared as with a great force of will, the flames blazing off his legs erupting forward to again blast back against the zombie horde blocking their way. The hall stunk of the many roasted undead he and his fellows had burned away, and yet more just seemed to keep coming. "Queen Mandy's last known location was the control room. Lord Death's in the infirmary with the general. Both lay in the direction forward and thus we must keep fighting to make it to them!"

A sudden leap and one of the zombies had finally managed to tackle one of the skeletons. The knight stabbed at the creature's black hide, but its Nergaling-infused flesh just healed itself around his sword and left the zombie unphased as it continued its attack. In a disgusting show, the zombie vomited up mounds of slimy dark tentacles from its mouth, ensnaring the horrifically thrashing skeleton as he tried in vain to escape.

Moving like a thick ooze, the zombie melted across the skeleton's form, covering him completely until his struggling slowed to become nonexistent.

Seconds later and the skeleton rose back up, transformed. The Nergal-hybrid's flesh had become its own; black tendrils coating his bones and siding under his armor, controlling the skeleton like a puppet. The other guards whom tried to come to his aid took a step back as their brother's empty eye sockets were now filled with a green glow, giving him a resemblance very much like that of the prince's.

With no word of warning, the Nergalized skeleton jerked forward his gun and unloaded the first few rounds right into the fronts of the skeletons around him, certainly getting the attention of the others and the captain.

"He is possessed!" The Tikbalang declared as he immediately used his axe to cleave the turned soldier in half, the sharp edge cutting right through the armor with his great strength. With the captain's back turned to deal with the problem, one of the zombies saw its opening and leapt as him as the others went for the skeletons whom had been shot.

With impressive reflexes for a man-beast of his size, the Tikbalang's arm reached behind him and caught the zombie by the throat, crushing its neck in his hand before slamming it down into the Nergalized skeleton, at least what was left of it below the waist.

The instant the two touched, the flesh of the black bodies reached out to each other, connecting and morphing together into a single misshapen form, with the zombie's head sticking out of the skeleton's stomach while still trying to attack the captain.

Hitting the creature with another blaze of fire from his legs to push it back, the Tikbalang fearfully continued to strike at it with his axe, repeating blow after blow and hacking the monster to so many fine pieces it was practically mush. To his irritation, it still squirmed and tried to rebuild.

"GAH!" The captain yowled in pain as the forgotten upper-half of the turned soldier had managed to crawl its way over to him and bite his leg. The things truly were relentless. The fire continuously bursting from below the Tikbalang's waist had to be causing far more damage to the skeleton than it was to him and yet it still refused to let go, even when he tried to shake it off and chop its head off at the neck, leaving just a stubborn little black skull digging its teeth in.

The cries of his men were getting more desperate and soon the captain saw why, with the fallen skeletons rising up as blackened as the one whom had shot them and left them vulnerable. They turned to attack their former allies, but most went after him. Why? Simply for the fact that he was the only one with any actually flesh to be eaten.

The captain's body lit up with flaring pain as his own soldiers opened fire on him. It was a stupid move on their part, to tear away at his body like this, given what they wanted. But the enemy had not designed these creatures to be smart, certainly not smarter than they could control. They just wanted them to act, to keep attacking and never stop, and they distracted them from all other thoughts by the many the Brain-caster beamed into their heads. Hundreds at once, including a little song continuously running through the backs of their minds as the Nergalized skeletons leapt to attack their former captain.

" _Brains, brains, I won't lie!_

 _I'll eat their brains 'til they're zombified!_

 _Sure they might think that it's deranged_

 _But they won't give it a thought_

 _After I've eaten their brains!"_

The Tikbalang fought valiantly as he could until the very end, never letting go of his weapon until his arm itself left his shoulder. His final fighting cries echoed out of the dogpile for several minutes, but eventually they had to cease when one lucky zombie finally got to his brain.

With all enemies in the area either slain or converted, the zombies and turned soldiers were calm for a minute, their simple minds having no thoughts on anything beyond the immediate present.

But through their link, the Brain-Eating Meteor (Jr) was quick to give them some, and soon all the creatures made their rush down through the corridor, looking for more of the castle's resisting forces.

" _Brains, brains, it's OK!_

 _It's not a matter if it isn't grey!_

 _And if at first they think it's strange_

 _They won't think twice if they don't have a brain!"_

* * *

"Incoming call from the general." Daedalus informed Drax, using the communicator in the mad scientist's glove to patch him through.

"Ah, general. It's been a bit since we've heard from you." Drax remarked jovially as he continued watching the zombies' rampages on the screens of the _Still Impressive_. "We were about to start taking bets as to whether you bit off more than you could chew with the queen."

"Oh, ye of little faith, my dear scientist." Skarr replied back through his own wrist communicator. "Well…in me, anyway. I'm certain you were quite confident the modifications you made to my body would be more than up to the task."

"Well, yeah. I'm brilliant."

"Hrm. Though I can't disagree that my old commander proved to be quite the challenge. We were too much of an even match, despite what she'd say. Were it not for that odd explosion that blasted us apart we'd likely still be going at it."

Looking over all the footage that recorded everything the zombies were seeing, Drax was able to quickly come up with an answer. "Seems that little interruption was caused by the Grim family's youngest brat." He said as the eye of one of the many zombies Manny had blown apart in the lab had just happened to have been facing the right enough direction to see the ghost boy's vacuum punch through the ceiling and beyond. "Our files did say that he had more raw power than brains. Nearly killed himself just to take down Pain. Not sure where he or Pride have gotten off to, for that matter."

"Such a shame to lose such a valuable asset, but oh well. I do believe I've found something here that'll more than tip the odds further into our favor." Skarr said sinisterly as he tipped his communicator's camera for Drax to see what was in front of him; a large twin set of iron doors, a skull emblem very much resembling the Grim Reaper's image in their center to keep them sealed.

"Mandy's fabled vault." Drax uttered, some of his awe slipping through.

Skarr smiled, very pleased with himself. "Eris's apple was barely able to knock out most of the items we wanted out of here. Most certainly nothing HE was hoping to get his hands on. Care for me to pick you up anything on your shopping list?" He asked.

"To do that, you'd actually have to get into the vault first, and even just this single look tells me Mandy has doubled a lot of its protections." Drax remarked, noticing that at least one of the locks was an electrically controlled deadbolt, meaning the EMP they caused would actually make it harder for them to get in.

"That's why I'd certainly appreciate you getting BEMJ to send a few legions of zombies down my way." Skarr said, as on Drax's communicator he received the general's transmitted coordinates. "Even this door will only have so much force it can take before it breaks, and I'd say our strength in numbers makes for the perfect battering ram."

"Given their new shapeshifting abilities, they probably could make a literal one."

"Heh. Now wouldn't that be something to…to…"

"General?"

Skarr stayed quiet for a moment, listening intently. "…I suppose I should have known that even during a siege she wouldn't leave her prized collection without protection." He commented as soon even Drax was able to hear the low animalistic growling getting increasingly louder. The room around Skarr started to shake with every pounding footfall, and from out of the shadows of the eastern corridor emerged the large beast that probably smelled the general long before it ever saw him.

Three different canine heads looked down upon Skarr, though all sharing the same large body. The head of the Poodle and the head of the great Dane both continuously mashed the zombies in their snapping jowls to bits, while the third and center head, the Doberman, bared its teeth at the general in an increasingly threatening growl, him too close to the vault's doors for its liking.

"…Drax, do please get on that as soon as you can." Skarr requested calmly as he could into the communicator, staying still as the hellhound was waiting for him to dare to make another move. "I need to practice my spaying and neutering skills, it seems."

"Oh, speaking of which, since you're there, since it has three heads can you tell if it also has three sets of-"

Skarr clicked his communicator off, not dignifying that question with a response. And as soon as he did, that's when all three heads of Cerberus lunged forward.

* * *

Transferring plenty of rock into one of its ends to make sure it'd hurt, the black goo monster lashed out at the mother and son with its long, twisting tentacle. Her legs still strong despite the extra weight on her back, Mandy leapt over the attack, leaving the walls of the stretch of hallway free to be even further smashed apart as it took the hit for her.

"Manny, use your Ghostly Wail!" She ordered her son as she saw the collective zombie mass winding up for another strike.

"What? Mom, I'm right next to your ear!" Manny quickly reminded her, feeling her arms still holding tight onto his legs. "At this range I could-!"

"My immortality will patch me up, just do it!" She yelled impatiently.

When two more tentacles burst out of the ooze to strike at them, Manny finally gave in. Using his Wail while staying in his ghost form was a challenge onto itself, given his injured state. Opening his mouth up wide, he could only keep the ultrasonic attack going for a few seconds before his voice started to give out, but to even to his great surprise, those few seconds made the difference, as the zombie mass almost immediately backed off on its assault and started squirming around in almost a panic. He stopped his Wail as soon as he saw the blood trailing down the sides of his mother's face as her eardrums burst, but thankfully she didn't need to urge him to continue, as Mandy leapt against the wall to bounce off it and leap through the hole up to the next floor.

"I don't think I actually hurt that thing. Just confused it." Manny said, seeing the sea of blackness below them starting to regain its composure.

"WHAT?" Mandy asked, not as a question but more in general, her hearing shot for the moment.

The creature had too many eyes to have not seen the two leave, even in its distracted state, and was soon upon them again, oozing its thick, squirmy body up the hole to go after them.

As soon as a tentacle would have grabbed at her leg, Mandy had already gotten off the ground and began leaping up to the next level. Given how fast the zombie mass was, she didn't stop there, continuing to bound her was up the holes.

"Manny, turn us intangible!" Mandy ordered her son again as part of the broken floor gave away as soon as her foot left it, being too brittle to withstand the small bit of force.

Doing as he was told, Manny's body soon turned transparent, followed by his mother's. Trying to go a step further, Manny pushed himself to fly them both up to the next level but felt the sudden stinging jolt in his knee that almost turned him human again.

"Manny, don't fly! Just keep us intangible! You don't have the energy to spare for both!" Mandy yelled at him as soon as she noticed what he was doing.

"But that thing is gaining on us!" Manny pointed out fearfully. "You can't outrun it on your own!"

"WHAT?" Mandy yelled again, still not hearing her son's words as anything more than a mumble amongst endless ringing in her ears.

With her feet now going through whatever surface they touched, Mandy's alternate strategy was quite a bit more impressive, now using their practically nonexistent weight to her advantage by using the sheer force of her kicks to bounce them both off the air itself and continue to climb higher up the holes. Manny made a note to himself to ask his mother where the hell she'd learned to do such a thing when this was all over.

The hungry black collective was still after them, but now Manny finally saw what Mandy's plan was. The punch he threw that'd created all these holes also heavily damaged the floor surrounding them, to the point where they could hardly support even the weight of Mandy's footfall. A fifty-ton monster made of zombie demon flesh and pieces of broken castle certainly threw around more weight than that. As its tentacles and sides tried to grip at the walls to climb its way up, pieces of the floor kept breaking away. The zombie mass was still coming, but its continuous falls and fails at every level was at least slowing it down significantly when compared to the two of them.

"Manny, turn your power off here." Manny's attention was regained from the monster now several floors below as he and Mandy leapt out of a final hole, only third from the top, and phased through a wall. Turning them both solid again quick as he could before they'd touch down, Manny gave a slight "Ooph!" against his mother's back as her feet made a rough landing on the red carpet.

"Seems we missed the party." Mandy commented evenly as she regained her proper standing, directing Manny's attention over to another of the missiles that had been fired into the wall behind them along with all the rest in the bombardment. Given that it was already open and the hatch inside was completely empty, it likely meant all the zombies whom had been in there had ventured off to other, more lively parts of the castle. "We're safe for the second, but this means there's probably plenty on this floor still." She gave warning to her son. "Relax for now and heal, but try to keep watch and be prepared to use your Wail again if Blob-boy shows back up. It might be enough to jumble whatever orders it was getting from the Brain-caster the first time, but I'm going to need to get a better weapon if I'm going to kill it."

As Mandy started walking forward again, clearly with purpose as she brought them to this very floor, Manny nearly asked what it was she was hoping to grab up here, as the hall was far too damaged to recognize where exactly in their home they were, but stopped himself, the blood in her ears giving him the feeling she still wouldn't be able to tell him.

"….WHAT?" Mandy yelled again as she carried Manny down the corridor.

* * *

The zombie mass continued to howl in its hunger for brains as it climbed further and further up, its noise soon becoming just a faint echo to be heard by the one person remaining in the lab below.

The absorbing black goo having taken away all the rubble that covered him to become part of its growing body, the lone figure slowly rose up from the laboratory's heavily damaged floor, his own blue-clad body not doing too well itself.

Very painfully yanking a rebar stick out from where it didn't belong in his stomach, Lord Pain's gloved hand curled around the handle of his cudgel while the other turned red from holding in his punctured side. Not yet having the strength back to lift it, the knight dragged the spiked ball behind him as he moved towards the elevator. The EMP had ensured that the lift was far too damaged to work, he hadn't forgotten that. But the cables of the elevator themselves were still intact and he'd climbed more impossible lengths with even worse injuries than these before.

His golden glowing eyes stared unblinkingly in determination as he kept pushing himself forward, the Sin Pride floating behind him with that same unbearably smug smile across her face.

Of everywhere his queen was likely to go now, this elevator shaft would take him close enough to intercept her.

* * *

Skarr stood with his back to the wall, the blood spraying from his open shoulder staining the brickwork as his actual arm was roughly thirty feet above and away from him in the Poodle head's mouth before being swallowed.

"I must admit, you are a rather impressive beast." The general complimented, the stinging of the wound quickly fading as he felt his missing limb start to regrow. "I'm going to enjoy making you fetch my slippers." He added with a smirk as a new arm simply burst its way out from the squiggling flesh of his shoulder. The fabric of his clothes also started to repair as well, stretching out across his fresh appendage and covering it to form a new sleeve and glove to match his other one.

Cerberus seemed to either not notice the small man's healing ability or simply didn't care. After all, it simply gave the three hungry mouths even more of the intruder to chew on.

"I suppose it'd be best if I continued to discipline you myself to ensure you see me as your new master." Skarr commented, eyeing the scorch marks his pistol had made against the dog's fur. Only the rounds that'd stuck Cerberus' softer underbelly had broken through the skin and caused it to bleed, though its demonic nature was causing the hellhound to heal fast too. It had remarkably high pain tolerance. "But sadly I lack the time. So I'll just have to send you to a quick obedience school session."

Right on que, all six of Cerberus' ears perked and all three heads quickly turned to see what Skarr had already spotted coming. A thick horde of the black Nergaling Zombies running down the hall on all fours like apes, soon showing off the same jumping ability as such as the closest in the crowd all leapt upwards at the dog.

A number of unfortunate few found themselves quickly snatched out of the air by Cerberus' jowls and noisily chomped away into paste. It was only pure coincidence that the undead's rotten flesh tasted so foul that the heads didn't bother swallowing the zombies and spit what was left of them back up. As with all the others infused with the Nergaling DNA, the black zombies quickly started to reform themselves, be it to their forms before or to grotesque Cronenberg hybrids as they morphed into each other. Regardless, the horde still kept coming.

With the swing of its tail Cerberus sent several of the zombies flying back, and with the thundering steps of its paws it flattened several more. Summoning up power from the bowels of its stomach, the three mouths of Cerberus opened wide to give an eruption of fire from each. The force of the blaze kept some away, but being made with the DNA of demons spawned in the center of the Earth, the flames did little to burn the zombies away and still they kept coming.

Turning their hands to spikes, the horde stabbed at Cerberus, making him bleed as their number ran across him like ants. The three heads bit and ripped zombie after zombie away from its body, but the jabs under the skin continued, with the dog's legs soon starting to buckle before they gave way, causing Cerberus to collapse to the floor with their ever-increasing weight.

Standing to the side as he simply watched the once ferocious guard of Tartarus whimper at the zombies tearing into his fur, Skarr smiled proudly, dusting off the sleeves of his jacket. "You know, three skulls probably would make for a fairly efficient battering ram. We'll find that out if our hungry little changelings leave enough left of you to convert." He chuckled darkly.

It happened so quick that Skarr hardly even realized what had happened. A wave of purple energy in the shape of a blade shooting through the corridor's length like a jet, quickly passing through the zombies seemingly harmless, before seconds later and the undead exploded at where they'd been touched.

"What?!" Skarr snarled in surprise and anger as this time it was multiple shots of green bombardment that blew his minions apart, quickly blasting the blackness off Cerberus's red body while aiming to leave the hellhound itself unharmed.

Quickly turning his head and Skarr's good eye didn't have to look far to find the source of the still steaming gun barrel.

Nergal Jr, his arm turned into his weapon while the other hung draped over the Grim Reaper's shoulder for standing support. Grim himself held his scythe out protectively before the both of them, its blade still glowing fiercely. "Step away from my dog." He warned the lot of them with a simple threatening glare.

Their appearance was somewhat untimely, as Skarr was certain the annoyed look on his face certainly showed. But he reminded himself that he had been expecting to run into the commander's husband at some point anyway, and so he readjusted his hat and collar to calm himself and present his image in a more dignified manner. "Interesting thing to hear you say, Reaper. In our surveillance, we thought you hated the beast."

"Nah, just was terrified of them and her." Grim remarked back evenly, though looking over Cerberus' sniffling and cut-up form with some pity in his empty sockets. "Ate me and my dad enough times ta where I was relieved when Hades offered ta take de dog off our hands fer a bit. Mandy would kill me if anything happened ta de mutt now though."

"Well, if me or my minions manage to get our hands on her, you won't have to worry about." Skarr informed him before glancing over at Nergal Jr. "Mr. Nergal, quite the surprise to see you up and about. I take it you recognize my voice? I certainly talked your ear off quite a bit as I was helping Drax collect samples from you." He grinned maliciously at the memory of taking a Melon Baller to the half-demon's eyes.

"I know what you're doing." Nergal Jr stated, interrupting the thoughts. "I can feel all your little abominations all around us. You're trying to stall for time until they regenerate themselves."

"My, you are the clever one." Skarr said, not exactly able to deny such a thing as the self-repairing horde was starting to rise up even as they spoke, getting Cerberus to start whining again as the dog quickly tried to pick itself up away from the crowd. "I can almost see why the commander made you're her new general after me."

"You?" Nergal Jr questioned, brow cocked in confusion. "I don't remember Mandy having another general."

Skarr's good eye gave an annoyed twitch. "I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should." He commented to himself dryly as his Luger pistol clicked.

But with their attention focused on that gun, Skarr quickly pulled out from his belt one of the laser pistols that zombies had been using before their transformation, rapidly blasting bolts of pure energy at the two enemies. Grim was quick to use the gleaming blade of his scythe to intercept and bounce back the blasts, but the Luger joined in to the fun with an assault of bullets, trying to use the metal's force to knock the scythe away to a less protective distance.

"Grim, listen," Nergal Jr said to the Reaper as he protected them both one-handed. "Without my eyes and my shapeshifting not fully back to me yet, I'm pretty much useless here."

"No argument from me, man." Grim said simply.

"But…" Nergal Jr continued, irritably pretending he didn't hear that. "I don't need to see to sense the zombies. They may be tough but they have no battle instincts. If nothing else, I can at least keep them off Cerberus while you deal with…whoever this guy is." He said, not seeing how much worse Skarr's twitch became. "Sound like a plan?"

Though he was still busy being on the defensive, Grim was quiet for a moment to consider the offer. "…Just don't die, alright?" He told the him, much to the demon general's surprise. "I may not like ya but Junior will still be happy ta see ya back in one piece whenever he gets back."

"I'd enjoy seeing that too." Nergal Jr remarked as he took his arm away from Grim's shoulder, freeing up the Reaper's other hand to help him swing his scythe better.

Without the skeleton's support, Nergal Jr crumpled to the ground. For a few seconds, he just laid there, his stinging body needing to get used to moving around on its own again. But upon hearing two out of Cerberus' three heads start growling while the other just whimpered fearfully, he could feel that the zombies had finished healing. Not only were they rushing the dog again, the general could sense some coming for him and Grim now too.

The adrenaline finally spurring him to action, a large hump stretched out of Nergal Jr's back, popping off several of his bandages before it very painfully burst out into two giant leathery black and green wings. The general could barely walk but he'd always found flying to be much easier, oddly enough.

The edges of his wings going sharp, a single powerful flap sent him charging forward, cutting through all the zombies unfortunate enough to have been running at him. Holding both his hands out flat, they morphed into two long metal blades, just in time for when he landed on Cerberus' back.

Outside of Mandy and her children, there were not many that were particularly liked by the hellhound, not even the general. But when the three heads witnessed Nergal Jr slicing apart one black creature after another as they tried to leap into their blind spot, the dog let go of any aggression towards him for the moment and focused it instead on the zombies, now being free to have its teeth tear their little bodies in half and spit them away, only on fire.

" _This would be a lot easier if I was well enough to just obliterate these abominations with actually firepower."_ Nergal Jr commented to himself, feeling his arms sting every time he tried to form a cannon, having used up a lot of his stamina in the earlier blasts when he and Grim first arrived. _"Still, zombies aren't the worst threat we could be dealing with right now, even these slaps in the face to my father. They're stupid enough to where I can at least be grateful for that."_

* * *

"I am so fucking sick of zombies." Mandy remarked irritably as she spin-kicked the head off another of the black-bodied corpses, Manny following her lead and blasting the rest of it apart with a quick shot of energy from his good hand. It was a smaller crowd that attacked them than those whom had formed the ooze, but their exploded pieces were still wiggling on the floor and getting ready to reform again, thus the queen's continuing haste down the halls away from the threats. Not that there weren't more ahead.

She saw it just out of the corner of her eye; the crack between the elevator doors feet before them, open just wide enough to where someone inside the dark shaft would be able to look out.

With a sudden swing the famed spiked cudgel smashed through the leftmost door, missing Mandy by inches as her prepared legs sprang her back to dodge the hit. From out of the darkness, Lord Pain jumped forward, the elevator cables swinging wildly behind him in the sudden absence of his body.

Pain was quick to stay on the attack, swinging his weapon with both hands to keep the queen on her toes and on the defense. Making sure that she still had Manny's damaged leg held securely at her side, Mandy let go of his other leg so that she could pull out one of her pistols, her son being in too much shock at the knight's reappearance to fire for her.

With her opponent's head left unprotected without his helmet, naturally that's where Mandy aimed her shots. As she expected he would, Lord Pain threw the metal of his cudgel up before his face to deflect the bullets. With a quick jump, Mandy used the heel of her boot to kick at his hands, pushing the knight's weapon further away than it could move where it needed to go next. As such, Mandy proceeded to put three bullets into his leg.

"Mom, what are you doing?! That's Charles!" Manny cried out in fearful protest as the blood painfully sprayed from the servant's new wounds, forcing his body to halt its swings.

"I know." Mandy said simply as she didn't let up, giving another fast swing of her leg to crack her heel against Lord Pain's face, sending him tumbling back to the floor. It took the knight a few seconds to get back up from the carpet and linoleum and his rise was quite slow, shaking and nearly falling over on himself again as he just barely managed to get up to a kneeling position, resorting to using his cudgel to keep upright. "You're not usually this sloppy, Charles. Manny must have really done a number on you." Mandy commented as the spikes of his weapon scraped against the floor with each of his failed attempts to get back to his feet. "Or maybe this is just what happens when you start listening to voices in your head other than me."

Her existence finally acknowledged, Pride materialized into sight, appearing between the queen and Pain. _"Mandy, Mandy, Mandy. Mandy, Mandy, Mandy, Mandy, Mandy, Mandy. Mannnnnndy."_ The Sin said, shaking her head condescendingly with her eyes closed. _"You still just can't accept that there are people who are smarter and clearly more popular than you, I see."_

"God, you would take that form, wouldn't you?" Mandy said with a sigh, having not heard that voice since elementary school and finding its annoyance certainly hadn't improved with age.

Manny, having already seen the Sin, was more concerned with Lord Pain, eyes fearful as they watched all that blood leaving his body through those bullet holes. "Charles! Are you okay?!" He called out to him.

Lord Pain had stopped futilely moving around and when he did not respond Manny felt his throat tighten with the fear that he might already be head. But then the knight slowly rose his head and Manny and his mother saw what he'd been too fast to see before. The glow in his right eye had vanished, leaving only the other still under Pride's golden influence, and the knight's face reflected the inner conflict well. His left side, the side that held tight his cudgel that kept him lifted against the floor, bared his teeth through his jaws, showing his desire to just keep fighting. His other side, the right, just looked on through the two in despair.

"Master… I have failed you." Lord Pain said to Mandy, his voice and brown eye completely absent of hope.

Mandy kept her gun trained on him, despite Manny's objections. It seems sincere enough, but she was hardly in the mood to fall for any traps.

"I can remember it all now…what I did under the Sin's influence." Pain said, hand covering his face in shame. "Back at the previous siege, while everyone else was fighting Lantern and the box's other Sins, Pride had me retreat back to the castle, to send word out to our enemies that I had been turned. And later, the warning you told me to send out to master Minimandy… Gods…I never sent it!" His hand came off his face in horror. "The call I made was to the frequency they gave me, so they could tell me about the plan they put in place for me with the return of general Nergal. The young master, she doesn't know what's happening! She doesn't know the danger she's in! Because of me…"

Pain's fist punched the floor as he bent forward over it, his hands clutching his head as all the memories played through his head, showing him just how truly he'd screwed up. Pride in turn just rolled her eyes. _"Even I couldn't keep his self-worth high for long, what little he had."_ She remarked to Mandy. _"I guess some people are just destined to be looosers."_

The knight's pitying sobs were not the only noise keeping the queen's attentions occupied. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the broken black bodies behind her and her son shifting to get back together again. Manny became greatly worried that Charles was still under the Sin's influence and just stalling for time, but his mother made no move to get past him. Did see not think the same?

"You are destined to become queen of all, master. And such a being of power has no use for such a weak servant." Lord Pain declared with his head hung low. "I accept whatever punishment you bestow upon this disgraced knight, master, be it a bullet through the skull or to stay in place and let my tasty flesh serve as a distraction for the zombies. I know I deserve as much and far worse." He bowed deeply to her, eyes closed as he waited for her judgment.

For a long moment, fear held Manny's throat closed tight as Mandy didn't lower her gun. But then…

"Don't give me that crap, Charles." Mandy said bluntly, getting both his and Manny's eyes to open back up wide in surprise. "You think I'm going to let you get away with doing such a half-assed job?" She told him as Lord Pain lifted his head back up to see her. "No, you're going to help clean up your mess. So I do not give you permission to die and I sure as hell do not give you permission to look so pathetic in front of me!"

Down Lord Pain's left cheek, a small trail of tears found their way leaking out of his eye's golden glow. "Master…" The knight uttered, his voice choking slightly as the side of his lip nearly uplifted to a smile.

All around them, Manny stiffened as the zombies were nearly fully assembled again and even with heads and legs missing they still looked ready to pounce on the group. Mandy and Pain's mannerisms made no change as the body bodies oozed themselves upright. The two either didn't notice or they found no reason to care.

"You're the servant and tool of Queen Mandy, are you not?" Mandy asked the kneeling blue knight. "Then act like it, Charles. Get up to your feet! Stand tall in the name of your queen! And clear a path!" She declared her order with a strong wave of her arm at the hallway.

It took only the time until the last teardrop fell from Lord Pain's face. As soon as it touched the ground, it was like a switch and both of Pain's eyes suddenly erupted with gold so fierce they almost resembled flames. Pride's smugness lasted for a second longer before unease started to creep in. Something was wrong.

"YES, MY MASTER!" Lord Pain declared with a shout as his body shot to his feet, his leg still dripping from its wound but the knight himself not even registering it anymore.

A quick turn of his form and Lord Pain's cudgel slammed the head off the first zombie in range. The Brain-caster having spent the entire invasion commanding them not to attack Pain as he was under Pride's influence, the dim-witted creatures were far too slow in realizing on their own that they should be protecting themselves. And as such, the cudgel continued to bash its way through them as Lord Pain charged forth.

" _What do you think you're doing?!"_ Pride shrieked at him as he inverted another zombie's skull.

"Proving my worth to the one person that matters!" Lord Pain stated proudly as three zombies rushed him, the Meteor finally being able to get their new orders through to them. "Come forth, naves! Come forth and be taught the true meaning of pain!" He declared, sidestepping the zombies' claws and bursting tentacles as his weapon smashed in the brain of the first before swinging with full force at the others.

Once the knight had finally made an opening for them in the crowd, Mandy took Manny and ran through the bodies, Pain following her direction and racing behind them to cover their flank, grinning wider than Manny had ever seen him before as he busted the head of another zombie.

"How did you know that would work?" The ghost asked his mother.

"I didn't." Mandy told him honestly as they made their way down the hall. "On this chessboard, Charles is a knight or a rook. Incredibly useful, but still not above being sacrificed if need be. I simply reminded him of where his true pride lay to see if it was needed."

Despite her words, Manny smiled. "You trusted him."

"I trusted him to know what's good for him." She defended, forcefully shutting down that topic of discussion. "Now less talking, Manny. I see it up ahead." Mandy told her son, seeing the familiar shine of her husband's swinging scythe in the distance.

* * *

Morg and Drax watched the observation monitors closely, doing their best to ignore the BEMJ's singing as it'd gotten quite old in the last hour. Clear to them both, the two groups were close to converging, though that wasn't an outright bad thing for them.

Both men's heads gave a startled jerk up as a sudden echoing boom vibrated the ship, so loud and powerful to shake the thick hull despite seeming to come from a great distance away.

"Thunder?" Morg wondered aloud, checking the windows for any forming clouds. "Were we expecting a blood storm today?"

Drax checked his own equipment first, Daedalus projecting the hologram of an odd seismograph reading for him to see. "No…that wasn't from the Domain of Death." Drax read off, Morg looking too but being unable to make heads or tails of all the information. "That boom… It came all the way from the Ghost Zone." He said, first in disbelief that slowly turned to impish giggles. "It would seem that whatever the master and Boogie are doing keep young Grim Jr busy, the Reaper is kicking up quite a fuss about it!" He laughed.

"We're hearing the battle from dimensions away? How is that even possible?" Morg asked, putting on a strong front with his arms crossed but slightly worried about the answer.

Drax shook his head, still showing his teeth with his smile. "Don't know. All I do know is that Empheles better hurry up and get here soon. If I miss the opportunity to test my technology out against a Demon Reaper I'm going to become much more difficult to live with."

"Now that is impossible." Morg remarked dryly with half-closed eyes.

"Well…perhaps. I'll at least be putting more effort into it."

* * *

"What de heck was dat noise?" Grim commented on the odd thunder as he fought with Skarr, it not sounding quite like anything he'd heard in his realm before.

"Perhaps it was the _Still Impressive_ filling your castle with more missiles." Skarr remarked gleefully, the blade of Grim's scythe cutting another of his bullets in half as he inched his way closer to the general. "A tad unneeded, perhaps, but I've never been against kicking someone when they're down."

"Why do people like you never stop talking?" Grim asked before something whizzed past his head.

It was a shot that startled them both but most especially Skarr, as it was his hand the bullet went through.

His fingers unable to grip his pistol, the gun fell to the ground as Skarr stepped back in his swear of pain. But another bullet found its way through his working eye, knocking him back further as even more came flying, tearing through his body in a rapid onslaught wherever their mistress felt like making him suffer.

The general's body riddled with enough holes to make Louis Sachar jealous, crippled beyond any capacity to react, Grim took the opportunity to make a downward swing of his scythe, cutting Skarr in half right down the middle, from head to groin.

"And that is one of the things I can do to my ex-employees now that I'm not mayor." Mandy quipped evenly from the short distance as the two parts of Skarr fell to the ground, her presence and Manny's most certainly announced.

The zombies paid no real attention to the general's state, the signals from the Brain-caster registering the queen to them all as their biggest enemy and the horde immediately went on the attack. Manny was ready to blast them back but Mandy stopped him, leaving the way open for Lord Pain to intercept the monsters instead, his cudgel smacking one after another out of the way as he moved to close the distance between them and Grim.

"Bout time ya got here." Grim remarked to the lot, firing off a few beams from his scythe to aid the servant. Noticing Manny riding on Mandy's back, he naturally asked "Manny! De heck did ya do to yer arm and leg, boy?"

"He broke them both when delivering his most powerful blow yet to take me down, master. It was truly glorious!" Lord Pain informed him, pumping his fist excitedly before smashing in the face of a zombie that tried to jump the Reaper.

Grim gave the ecstatic knight a confused glace before looking over at Mandy.

"We missed a Sin." She told him, pointing over at Pride, floating almost locked next to Lord Pain's head as she continuously screamed at him.

" _Stop fighting the zombies! Mandy's the one you need to overthrow! Fight her, you loser!"_

Grim gave a nod of understanding. "Mindy, huh? Boy, everythin' is really comin' full circle around here." He remarked, hands on his hips, somewhat amused by the odd turn of events.

Grim's jaw was then struck by a bullet, though the grazing impact only hit his jaw with enough force to turn his skull upside-down on top of his neck. Both he and Mandy looking over to its source as he tilted his head back down, Skarr's left half had hopped up to its remaining foot. That bullet that'd been fired at Grim was actually one of many, the rest having all missed as the blind eye couldn't exactly aim.

As his original right half still laid motionless on the ground, dead as could be (soon disturbed by a hungry zombie coming along and starting to chew on it), Skarr's open wounds made the same twitches and prods as before, growing out rapidly like tumors before suddenly shooting off to make his body symmetrical again. Mandy's stinging eyes thankfully did not have to stay closed for long, as his uniform soon grew back as well, Skarr lifting his new foot up for a second so his boot could properly cover it once his pants came back.

"So that's where you're keeping your core. At least what side." Mandy remarked, gesturing at the scowling general's blind eye. "You don't actually have immortality like me, do you Skarr? It's just a strong healing factor, regenerating from a single point on your body. And if that part of you is destroyed…"

Skarr's brow sweat slightly, Mandy being the absolute worst person to have discovered his weakness. But he had to remind himself that he still had the advantage. "Attack! Attack, you mongrels!" He ordered the still standing zombies that weren't occupied with Nergal Jr.

It was more on the Brain-caster's commands that the zombies attacked than the general's, but the result was thankfully the same, the small legion charging forth into Mandy's open fire and Grim's swinging slashes.

"Ya just had ta egg him on, didn't ya?" The Reaper said to his wife as he decapitated a zombie just in time to clear Mandy's line of sight. The queen fired off several rounds at the general, Skarr making sure to keep his blind eye covered as he ducked and rolled and hid behind the bodies of his army. "Ya know dat if I open up a portal inta de vault we're riskin' trapping at least fifty of dese damn things in dere wit us, and dat's before we can grab any weapons to maybe finish dem off!"

Mandy rolled her eyes at her husband's griping, focusing instead on just beating the closing horde back, be it with bullets or her bare hands.

Manny could tell he was leaving his mother at a disadvantage having to carry him around like this. His leg hadn't healed yet, but he had recharged enough energy to maybe fly around on his own and take to weight off her. But then what? In his weakened state he was hardly going to be able to do much to help the four adults for long and these things seemed endless. They kept piecing themselves back together, no matter how many times they blew them apart, and more just kept coming from other parts of the castle, hearing all the chaos.

" _Wait… They're piecing themselves together…using each other…"_ Manny thought to himself, watching as Nergal Jr cut through several more zombies, only for two upper-halves to connect and morph into each other, using all four arms to run their heads at him again. _"They can heal, but they're also using bits from each other to speed things up. It doesn't matter how many piles we make because they can form out of any of them. They're not even waiting to see if they have to. They're just doing it automatically!"_

With that sudden realization, a completely insane idea came to Manny's head. So many things that could go wrong with it, but Manny let go and quickly flew off his mother's back before he could second-guess himself.

"Manny! The hell do you think you're doing?!" Mandy yelled at him, not able to turn and grab his barely floating form as her hands were busy blowing more heads off.

His foot was less than an inch off the ground but it did well enough for Manny to turn and fly forward to face the direction down the hall they'd originally come from. To greet his view, several of the Nergalized soldiers were making their way towards the group to join in the party.

"Well, at least this won't be completely worthless if it fails." The ghost teen remarked to himself before taking in a deep breath.

Opening his mouth up wide, the Ghostly Wail howled forth from Manny's stretched jaws, ripping apart the turned soldiers and blasting back every bit of stone the waves knocked loose from the walls. Even when it started to sting his throat, Manny kept it up for as long as he could, not stopping until the zombie symbiotes were mush and the bones of the former servants underneath were reduced to powder.

With the wail slowly turning to a shriek and finally a hoarse, defeated gasp, Manny's body unceremoniously just drifted into his human form, too drain to even keep his ghost powers active.

Despite the danger, Mandy rushed over to her son, shooting whatever attempted to get in her way. "Manny, you idiot, why did you do that?" She demanded to know as she kept him from falling on his bad leg now that he could no longer float. "Your Wail might have destroyed some of the closer ones but the rest will reform, with or without the skeletons. Not to mention all the others we're fighting that you just made yourself helpless against!"

Manny shook his head. "Wasn't…(COUGH!) Wasn't trying to…destroy them…" His cracked voice uttered painfully through his incredibly dry throat. "Just…just trying to be loud enough so it can find us again…"

Mandy eyed him with a raised, confused eyebrow, nearly asking him what he was talking about before soon the rumbling all around them gave her the answer. With the exception of the zombies, everyone else gave a pause from fighting as they felt the vibrations get heavier and heavier.

"Mom! Dad! Charles! We've got to gather around Cerberus!" Manny yelled to them all, emphasizing the need to do so immediately even through his hushed voice.

Mandy giving Grim a nod to do as their son said, the Reaper made a run for it to Nergal Jr and the hellhound as Lord Pain covered Mandy's flank, allowing her to grab Manny and hoist him up into her arms. Skarr continued to fire upon the group and order the zombies to keep going after them, when the floor around them all suddenly exploded open.

The long black mass of collected zombies had grown since Mandy and Manny left it behind, no doubt having added more debris to itself as it tried to find them again. And it was able to get bigger still, as several of the zombies fell into its snapping maw and grasping tentacles.

"A Nergolian death worm!" Skarr cried out excitedly, hugging the wall to stay standing on what little floor he had to stand on to keep from falling into the massive creature's pit. "Drax theorized we might accidentally create one of these!"

"You are not calling it that!" Nergal Jr yelled at him from across the way, deeply offended.

With impressive agility and grace for a beast so big, Cerberus used its paws to bound across the walls, keeping from out of the worm's reach and from falling in with all the passengers on the dog's back.

"I see." Mandy said, getting a knowing gleam in her eye that confused everyone else around her, save for Manny. "Not bad, kiddo." She said with a nod to her son, indicating that she'd figured out his plan.

The zombie collective did everything it could to keep its hold on the current level as the floor around it just continued to keep falling apart, creating an even bigger opening that led further and further down. With each zombie that it absorbed from the battle it'd interrupted, the worm created more spikes and tentacles to hold itself in place, its teeth gnashing at the family as its constantly sprouting eyes followed around wherever Cerberus jumped.

With no prior word of warning, Mandy yanked the scythe out of Grim's hands. "Cerberus! Down!" She ordered, pointing the weapon's tip down the expanding hole.

Showing no hesitation, the loyal mutt bounced its paws off the walls once more and leapt down into a freefall, causing everyone to grip at the dog's fur tightly to avoid being thrown off.

With a powerful swing of the blade, Mandy used the scythe to rip open a portal far below where the worm's tip ended; a portal to which they were all falling rapidly towards.

The worm had unintentionally taken care of the zombies that would have chased them in. Skarr, now also realizing what Manny's plan had been, fired as many rounds and bolts at the family as he could from both guns, but did so futilely, as they were already too far for him to get a clear shot. For a second there, it almost looked like all of them would make it.

But then Manny felt the wrap of a tentacle around his ankle, followed by a few more around the rest of his leg, much to his and the others' alarm. The Nergalized soldier's Manny's Wail had taken out. It was like his mother had said. The enslaved skeletons were destroyed but the zombie parts of them had regenerated and were now stretching their limbs down to make a snack out of one of them. And in this case, the closest happened to be Manny.

Manny tried to throw and ecto-blast at the tentacles, everything happening so fast he'd forgotten he was all out of power. In another few seconds and gravity would take them all through the scythe portal. Everyone except him.

But the zombies weren't the only ones to react fast and soon Manny saw the light-footed Lord Pain suddenly leap onto and run up the tentacle bridge. He made it all the way back up to the original higher level to find himself face-to-face with the creatures that tried to ensnare his master's child. With a quick swipe of his cudgel and Pain cleaved the main zombie right through the arms and torso, before then grabbing at the freed stalks of tentacles and yanking them up, getting them to unravel from around Manny's leg.

"Charles!" Manny yelled up at further and further away knight, Grim grabbing him to make sure he would stay with the group as they fell.

"Fear not, young master!" He called back down to him as he fought against the rest of the previously blown apart monsters. "Just leave this to Lord Pain!" He declared proudly as Manny saw a zombie head go flying.

"NO!" Skarr screamed in fury, jumping without thinking onto the giant worm and pointing dow at the family. "BEMJ! Don't let them get away!"

Through all the collective minds he was keeping distracted, the Brain-Eating Meteor must have heard the general, as the worm's many claws and appendages let go of the walls and floors, quickly going into a fall.

It took a moment but the massive monster's far greater weight allowed it to quickly catch up with the family, and the end that was formerly its end now opened up wide, the many rocks and debris it'd collected forming more powerfully chomping teeth.

Skarr's mad smile couldn't be wider as he held on tightly to the worm, his single desperate eye seeing his revenge so close as the teeth nipped at the air behind Cerberus' tail.

The family of four and their dog fell through the portal; it being big enough for Skarr and the worm to do so next.

There was no sudden stop of shift in gravity like the general had expected. The family had been trying to get into the vault, so naturally Skarr suspected that's where Mandy had opened a portal to. But where they were exiting out instead was quite a bit more open than Mandy's favorite trophy room, as Skarr saw when the red sky came into view around him.

This was not the vault. This was not even the castle. In fact, as evidenced by the presence of the castle and the _Still Impressive_ far below, they'd all exited out of a portal several miles above the lands of Grimskull and their fall was now going to get a lot faster.

Too little, too late, Skarr made the throat-clenching realization that his former commander had very successfully tricked him. She'd deliberately made the scythe portal big enough and stay open long enough for him and the worm collective to follow through; a theory that was completely confirmed as below him, Mandy swung open another scythe portal for everyone riding atop Cerberus to fall into, which then immediately closed after, leaving only Skarr and his monster to plummet through the open air.

"No…" Skarr moaned, his lip quivering in self-imploding anger as the ground fast approached. "No, no, no, no, NO!" He screamed as the ground came upon him.

* * *

"Eeee…!" Morg, Drax, and even the Meteor gave a tilt back in disgust as the black zombie mass exploded against the rocks, splattering its guts and pieces all across the ship like an overripe pumpkin.

"Went from Peter Pan to the ending of _Tremors_ out there." Morg commented as he pressed a button to activate the ship's windshield wipers.

"I'm…surprised you know that reference." Drax said back after a moment.

* * *

It wasn't the most graceful of exits, but they'd made it. At the speed they'd been falling, there was no way the landing could be gentle, but the other end of the portal opening up sideways helped to reduce the momentum a bit in the sudden change of gravity and the Grim family was spat out rudely from within, all sliding across the smooth floor. At long last, they'd made it into the vault.

Manny, despite being the most injured next to Cerberus and Nergal Jr, was the first to get back up. "Charles is still out there! We've got to go back and get him!" He said as he stumbled to his knees.

"No." Mandy told him bluntly, standing up and cracking her stiff neck back into place after the landing.

"No? What do you mean no?!" Manny yelled in protest.

"I mean, no." Mandy stated again, this time her glare getting Manny to back off a little, reminding him not to take that sort of tone with her. "The vault is the most secure place in the castle but it's not completely impenetrable. Eris's apple proved that." She remarked, a bit irritably as she looked over to the now empty glass-domed pedestal, one of the many replaced after the explosion. "There's still plenty of Nergal zombies out there, along with whatever else is onboard that ship. With Charles just outside the vault's doors, he's buying us the time we need to prepare to retaliate."

"Retaliate?" Manny asked. "Wait, why? I thought we were only going in here to grab everything important and then run away again. If dad's scythe is the only thing that can open portals inside the castle, why can't we just go somewhere else where the bad guys don't have us pinned down?"

"Normally, Manny, I would be all for hightailing it out of situations like dis." Grim said to him, taking a moment to check on the small hamster Mr. Snuggles in his own container to make sure the old pet was doing well. "But fer once I agree wit yer mother. We ain't exactly well-liked by the kingdoms of other realms, so dere ain't many places outside of de castle where we'd be safe ta go, especially if we're dragging even half of dis world-ending junk wit us dat de other lords would love ta get deir hands on." He pointed out, gesturing mostly to items like the Sword of Omens and the Casket of Ancient Winters, thankfully easily recovered and put back in their proper place.

"Plus, we do have thousands of other soldiers keeping order in other parts of the Domain of Death." Nergal Jr explained, sitting down with his back against Cerberus, the hound not even bothering to get up from where it'd fallen, just thankful for the moment of rest. "As an emergency procedure, all our troops in the outlands get a check-in signal from the castle every couple of hours. They miss a check-in, they're trained to assume something bad has happened back home and to coordinate with the other squadrons to investigate. The window for that has already passed, meaning we can expect reinforcements eventually."

"Reinforcements whom I'm sure would very much like to be informed about de zombie parasites that can take dem over." Grim added, noticing Mandy walk away from the situation, going past several of her trophies to deeper into the wide vault, though not that he commented on it.

"But… But what about Charles?" Manny asked, understanding what the adults were saying but unable to overturn his fear. "He's still all alone out there, with a Sin still in his head!"

"Ya are just gonna have ta trust dat he can hold out." Grim told him. "It may seem cold, but I know fer a fact dat it's what he'd be tellin' ya ta do too."

Manny wanted to protest more, but that last bit was one he could argue with. Pain was loyal to the family and their home to a fault. He'd always put them before anything else, before his soldiers and far before himself.

Feeling depressed that there was genuinely nothing he could do, Manny's mind wandered to think of everything that had happened since he and the knight had been just talking about weapons down in the barracks. Never before had he wished more that his older brother and sister were here too.

And that's when he remembered something quite important.

"Charles mentioned something, that Minnie never got his call warning her about what's been happening around her." Manny said, though to his surprise, Nergal Jr didn't seem that worried by that fact.

"Thankfully, that's actually one less thing we have to worry about." The demon general said, regaining even Grim's attention. "We Nergals share a mindscape in the astral plane. That's how Junior was able to meet my father when he first got his sister's eye and how I was able to sense all the spliced zombies without my eyes. I may have passed out while they were torturing me, but I knew they were taking samples from my body for a reason, and that they were after Minnie too. Her connection to the plane has been shaky since she became a ragdoll, but I know I was able to send her at least some of the information I knew, mostly that yours and Mandy's enemies were going to be coming at you soon." He explained, pointing a bit too far to the right of Grim, though the skeleton didn't say anything about it. "If nothing else, she's been given enough of a warning to be able to stay safe."

"Ya do remember dat she's Mandy's daughter too, right?" Grim reminded him.

"…..Crap." Nergal Jr swore, flopping further against Cerberus' fur. "Well then…at least she'll probably prepare herself somewhat before she does something horrifyingly dangerous." He sighed.

Were it not for the situation, Grim would almost be tempted to laugh a bit at the half-demon's exasperation. But sadly, now was not the time.

"Manny, come over here and keep de general company as ya both heal up." Grim told his son, wanting to get him off that knee as soon as possible as his ghost form recharged. "I'm gonna go find yer mother."

Seeing no reason not to do as he said, Manny got up with some help from the Reaper and limped over to sit down next to Nergal Jr against Cerberus. Taking a moment to make sure that he could still feel the living and fighting presence of Lord Pain's soul outside the vault doors, Grim made his way towards where Mandy had gone off to.

The skeleton walked for a bit through all the odd treasures his wife had collected over the years before he finally found her. "Boy, I ain't seen dat outfit in years." He remarked as Mandy finished sliding the grey sleeve over her arm, one of the few wooden chests within the vault open behind her from where she'd been storing it since her mayoral days.

Mandy finished adjusting the last red strap over the jumpsuit. "It's a little tight." She admitted, stretching for a moment to rework the flexibility back into her old assassin garb. "I guess even an immortal can't help but gain some weight after giving birth to four children. At least I still have plenty of places to hide weapons in this thing over my lounging-around outfit."

"Including under my face, as I saw dat one time." Grim said, recalling the knife she'd pulled out from under the long skull decorating the chest of the suit to stab a gangster who'd tried to set up shop in Megaville. "I always wondered why ya had me on dere."

"It's basically the equivalent of wearing nothing but orange for a year and then suddenly switching to blue." She said, her tone telling him not to feel too flattered. "My usually clothes were pink with a flower. If you can fool people with glasses and duller colors just because they're not looking for it, of course I made it work for me."

"Of course." Grim shrugged, still smiling a little smugly at he didn't think she was being entirely truthful with that explanation. Still, he didn't let that last long for himself. "Until de reinforcements get here, it is basically just de two of us against an entire army and all of our old enemies." Grim reminded her, his face fading back into seriousness. "Dat's a tall order, even fer us."

"I'm well aware of that, Grim." Mandy told him evenly, her eyes looking around at her collection, taking notes and comparing efficiency of what to take out and carry with her into the fight. "I might be prideful and stubborn beyond all reason, but I'm never without a plan to turn to odds back into my favor. You're right that even we are going to have trouble with everything going against us. So I believe it's time we break something out of its long storage. Something that'll bring our little team up to full power instead of just two-thirds of it."

"Two-thirds?" Grim asked, confused by her meaning until he finally saw the podium Mandy's eyes stopped at, and the item that floated gently inside the glass case. As soon as he realized what his wife was planning to do, Grim almost completely froze in place. "You can't be serious."

"Have you ever known me to joke, Grim?" Mandy asked him rhetorically. "It's certainly going to be enough power to smack our enemies aside."

"And likely de whole castle along wit dem." Grim pointed out fearfully. "De Billy door was bad enough, but dis…"

"Billy's door is in the top tower of the castle, too far away for us to reach, and after that EMP we can't fire it out of the cannon anymore." Mandy reminded him.

"Dat ain't my point and you know it." Grim told her, crossing his arms with a huff.

"You're not going to be able to talk me out of this, Grim." Mandy stated to her husband as simple fact, getting him to sigh because he knew she was right about that at least. "Our enemies have brought down the thunder. I say we bring down a little of our own." She said ominously as her hellish red eyes stared at the item before her; a lone hammer floating in zero-gravity, its large mallet far more block shaped than any ordinary hammer, with its side catching the light and illuminating the inscription written upon it.

" _Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."_

* * *

"General? Hello, Mr. Skarr? You out there?" Drax asked again into his communicator. Upon still getting no response, the scientist gave a shrug of his shoulders and gave up on it. "Hm. Guess his core must have been destroyed in the fall. Oh well, no real loss there. Only complaint is that I still can't tell if the zombies from the Nergolian death worm are regenerating yet."

"You could always just ask BEMJ." Morg pointed out to him.

"Yes, I could, but he sings everything and it's really starting to get on my nerves.

"Fair point."

As the two men continued to check the monitors, now completely black for the zombies outside with their eyes smashed, both gave a jump as Eris suddenly bolted upwards in her chair, her magazine flying off her face as her awakened eyes turned completely blue.

"GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" She screamed as massive plumes of blue fog spewed out from her mouth, forcing her jaws to stay open until it was all out of her system.

With a final cough of blue soot, Eris's eyes returned to normal and the goddess held her stinging throat, looking at the small cloud before her with a hateful stare as it quickly started to morph and condense. Within seconds and the fog became solid, forming into a familiar blue demon in a black and yellow robe.

"You know I hate it when you do that!" Eris yelled as he got up from off the floor.

"Well, I'm sorry, but it's not my fault the quickest way this far into the Domain of Death without a scythe portal is through the Mindscape." The Boogieman defended his actions, taking the moment to brush the dirt off his robe. "Thankfully, since Cipher got erased by those kids it was a lot faster of a journey than it used to be. But, given that I still found all paths that could lead to inside Grimskull blocked off, I'm guessing we haven't managed to destroy the Anti-Magic generator yet." He said, easily reassuming command of the entire operation despite his absence, Eris glaring at the back of his head as he turned.

"Unfortunately, no." Drax informed him; Morg and BEMJ commenting to each other in the background that they'd completely forgotten Eris was even there. "Seems Mandy took some extra steps to keep it running through such simple tactics as an EMP or spaceship bombardment. Not surprising, given what she wants to keep out."

"But I take it the missiles still did their job?" Boogie asked him.

"But of course. I designed them, after all." Drax said with a grin, sliding his glasses back up his face as he input a few commands into the computer, bringing up a 3-D model of Castle Grimskull's insides to be holographically projected before the group. "It's not perfect, but the vibrations from the impacts have helped create a well enough map of the fortress for us to know its strongest and weakest points. I've marked a few different spots for the generator's most likely location." He explained, four to five red dots appearing throughout Grimskull on the projection.

Boogie's face twisted into a dark smile. "Today has the potential to be a good day for us all, most especially the master. We just need a little more time."

"I take it things went well for you back in the Ghost Zone then?" Drax asked.

"That all depends on how well HIM holds up his end of the bargain with the master, as well as what use you both can make out of the little present Dan Phantom left for us in overthrowing the previous king." He said, gesturing to both Drax and Morg. "Mr. Morg, if you'd be so kind as to go to these coordinates and pick it up. We'll cover for you here." He said, pat on the Reaper's back as he handed off to him a GPS with a location in the other realm for him to follow.

"I notice that ever since with the girl in Aku City, I never get to do anything that important." Morg commented a bit bitterly.

"Oh, come now, Morg. I'm sure any _Amazon_ user couldn't express enough the importance of delivery boys." Drax mocked him, his fingers barely hiding his chuckling grin.

Fuming slightly through his absent nose, the Martian Reaper just took the GPS and turned to storm away, muttering under his breath about where up Drax's body he'd deliver as he left to the pods.

At that time, Drax's communicator gave a ding; Daedalus informing him that his earlier calls ha finally gotten a response.

"Ah, general. About time." Drax said patronizingly friendly into the communicator as the call connected. "You took so long to pull yourself back together that our big blue boss got back here before you did."

Skarr gave a grunt but did not address the snide remark further. "Yes, well, I'm fine, and you'll be happy to know that the zombies are too." He told them, the general looking up at the _Still Impressive_ from the bottom of Grimskull's mountain, gallons upon gallons of black, pulverized goop flowing around him as the Brain-caster told them what shapes to take.

"Well, that is good news, save for the fact that you are _outside_ of the place you're supposed to be invading." Drax quipped. "Even with the turrets offline, that mountain is going to be a pain and a half to climb."

"Drax…" Boogie said in a word of warning, getting the scientist to back off his comments for a moment so he could speak. "Skarr, now that I'm here we're about to proceed with sending in the second wave. Picking you up and firing you back in would only subtract from our potentially tight timetable."

"Fear not, commander, I can make do." Skarr assured him as the black goop formed into soldiers again, even using some of the broken rocks from inside the worm to create misshapen armor for themselves. "With the zombies' assistance the climb should be manageable enough and I'll meet you all inside. Just don't get too ahead of yourselves, now. I'd like to be there too when we finally rip from Mandy everything she holds dear! To help deliver the blow that ends her reign and makes her suffer as we all have suffered because of her!" He started going off, gripping his communicator as he spewed and smiled like a maniac. "To see the anguish on her face when she realizes her long-coming fall from grace came at the hands of General Ska-!"

Skarr's monologue found itself interrupted as something small and red bounced off his nose, the soft impact causing him to lose his train of thought.

Rubbing the spot on his nose, Skarr bent over to pick up what had hit him. "A strawberry?" He asked, bewildered by the appearance of the ripe fruit between his fingers.

Rumbles came from overhead and this time it was genuine thunder. Looking up, the sky above the land filled quickly with pink, swirling clouds, lightning crackling between them as the storm became thicker and thicker. Strawberries rained down like droplets, rhythmically pounding against the metal hull of the ship, and the air started to smell like milk.

Thunder echoed as the winds picked up and as the lightning touched upon the ground, the flashes illuminated a massive shadow against the clouds; a tall muscular figure with a nose larger than his face.

"DUH HA HA HAAAA!" The laughter shook the earth and Skarr's pupil shrank, remembering that dreaded sound.

"No…" He moaned, his legs quivering with fear. "No, no, please, not him! Please, anyone but him!" He screamed, hands clutching his head.

"DUH HA HA HAAAA!" The guffawing laughter continued as a single bolt of lightning, far more powerful than any of the others, stretched down from the clouds and slammed against the front yard of Grimskull.

As the smoke from the crater cleared, it was a giant of a man whom emerged. He was muscle upon muscles, his green-clad body literally squeaking against itself as he stood up from where his hammer had struck the ground. With his fiery red beard and winged helmet, the man looked every inch the proud Norse warrior of the people he ruled, save for his face, what little of it that could be seen from past that bulbous orb he called a nose, looking still just as innocent and absent of any thought as the first day he and Mandy somehow became lifelong friends.

Before the wet pants of General Skarr had appeared one of the few beings Mandy's enemies feared more than her. Her greatest ally. The God of Thunder and Partially Hydrogenated Yogurt himself!

Billy, king of Asgard!

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** When I was first forming this story in my head, I had rewatched the _Billy and Mandy_ cartoon to get some ideas for what I'd want to include. The various villains were one, but how Billy would be in the story was another. His new design and powers actually take inspirations from two particular episodes: _Super Zero_ , where Billy asks Grim to make him into a massive, green, yogurt-themed superhero, and the other is _A kick in the Asgard_ , where Billy ends up in Asgard and ends up being completely at home, eating endlessly and defeating Norse God after Norse God before being killed and reborn and getting to do the whole thing all over again. I'm hoping to have some fun with a godly powerful Billy.

Bit of an advertisement, I've been having trouble deciding what lemon story I want to do next for the Grim Tales Oneshot collection. So I started up a poll on my profile page with some of the pairing ideas I'm currently stuck between. If all has gone well, you should be able to select up to two choices of what you'd like to see. Highest number of votes gets made, second place I make sure to keep in mind for future lemons, as generally I'd prefer to write stories people actually want to see.

* * *

 **QTP:** Will Lord Pain be able to last on his own? What weapons from her vault is Mandy going to bring out into the fight against the villains? What is the Anti-Magic Generator? And how the hell is Billy of all people worthy of using Mjölnir?


	27. The Unholy Trinity

**Part 27: The Unholy Trinity**

 **Brave2000:** Yeah, Maxwell Atoms is a hell of a drug.

 **Lord Razer:** Loki would be, if he wasn't dead too. As for Timmy, he's never met Billy and has only heard about him second-hand from all the villains, so he hasn't had the same kind of traumatic experiences as Skarr and Eris have. Plus, his experience with Cosmo isn't really going to be of much help since Timmy doesn't remember anything about his godparents anymore other than the fact that he had some.

 **Nostalgia Fiction:** I'm glad you picked up on all the references. I re-watched certain episodes of the original show specifically because I knew I was bringing Billy into the story. I'll admit that I've held off on using Billy for the same reason Griddles and Bleedman probably did, as it's hard to write a character who is supposed to be stupid and funny in an otherwise mostly serious story. Not saying I've never written a characters stupidly, just that I'm not used to doing so deliberately. And yes, the "WHAT?" gag was from DBZA. It's one of my favorites.

1.) And Dan certainly won't be the last to die, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

2.) I'll admit, I considered the KND Mandybot, but not an armored version of it. That's something I'll have to use someday.

3.) Not quite, though it is based on the tech and powers of both the fairies and anti-fairies.

4.) Funny enough, both your ideas are correct, as this chapter will show.

 **DPSS:** "She probably just asked for it and he gave it to her." That's actually exactly what happened, along with a little distracting him with food.

1.) Though Minnie is on her way to Aku City for more reinforcements and Junior is still stuck in the Land of Tainted Souls with HIM, so I wouldn't count on them showing up anytime soon to help Charles.

2.) She does indeed have all of those, as well as a few fun others.

3.) I love the phrasing of that.

4.) Incredibly similar, actually.

 **Deadpool517:** There is only one god in Grimskull now, and he has a hammer and a sometimes very runny nose.

 **Algremnon:** A little something called Maxwell Atoms, my friend. I'm pretty sure I used Youtube as my hookup.

 **Valtek:** No, Billy and Timmy haven't met yet. Yet.

1.) And despite everything else in the castle, Lord Pain is unfortunately still a mortal.

2.) Like Link's tunic, Mandy's old assassin outfit has some deep pockets.

3.) Indeed.

4.) Mostly the first, but a little bit too of the second.

 **Major144:** Thank you. I hope I can keep the quality up (especially since this chapter was quite delayed).

 **Mizully:** Only to the villains (and Grimskull's front lawn).

 **Guest:** This is the first I've ever heard of the Anengers and that sounds hilarious.

 **nightmaster000:** Let's just say that it was a Ragnarok other than the movie's that kept Thor from helping to protect Megaville when HIM attacked (kind of like how JLU and Teen Titans exist as part of the PPGD/Grim Tales universe, I also consider _Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes_ and _Spectacular Spider-Man_ to be this universe's versions of the Marvel characters).

* * *

 **CHAPTER START**

Daniela gave a small groan as she slowly awakened, her head pounding something fierce. She sat up in the bed, taking a moment to get her bearings and try to fight through the fog to remember what she'd been doing.

" _The Ghost King…my father…Junior… I must have passed out…"_ She thought to herself, rubbing her tired eyes to bring herself back to reality, a little surprised to feel the roughness of bandages against her skin. Her wounds had already been tended to.

Opening her eyes back up, she did not recognize the room she was in, nor anything down the hall outside of the open door. But as her breath suddenly came out, a visible cloud for her to see, Daniela put together that she was still in the Ghost Zone. _"Perhaps one of these days I'll wake up to not find myself in some strange new location I've never seen before."_ She remarked with a grunt to herself before getting up out of the bed and leaving the room.

The hallway wasn't particularly long, but the everchanging windows leading down it couldn't help but keep distracting her. They looked so real and so wide open that there was no way these lands were right outside this building, especially not with each of the windows showing a different, generally chaotic landscape. Best guess, Daniela figured these were like her portals, each one of these windows looking out at some real place outside the Ghost Zone, thus naturally the girl avoided getting too close in fear of being accidentally sucked through. She continued on her way down the hall, the echoes of voices from inside the many windows almost tempting her to look further in.

" _Then by the power vested in me by the state of Delmarva, I now pronounce you... Garnet!"_

" _Bring me THANOS!"_

" _You are now part of the hero academia."_

" _You have failed this city!"_

" _Wubba lubba dub dub!"_

" _I'll never forget when the Doctor was me."_

Finally Daniela reached the end of the hall and found a large chamber filled with more of the same; numerous sightseeing windows and gently clack gears in the walls. But in this particular room she finally came across someone else; a blue ghost in a long purple robe also looking out through one of the windows, tuning the nob at the tip of his staff as he watched.

Still, it seemed that even with his back turned to her, the other ghost wasn't so distracted that he didn't notice her come in.

"Ah, Daniela. Good morning." The ghost greeted warmly as he turned to her, his elderly form turning to a toddler's. "Or evening if you prefer. You'll find multiple points of time tend to be rather simultaneous around here."

It took Daniela a moment, having only met the ghost once, but she did remember him. "Wait…you're… You're Clockwork, yes?" She asked, realizing she must be in that building she saw within that gear-filled section of the Ghost Zone where she'd been practicing. "What am I doing here? How did I get here?"

"Your brother brought you." Clockwork explained simply, pointing his staff at the window he'd been watching, having it change from a view of a massive Viking battle to a look into the spare room Daniela had been sleeping in some time ago.

 _"Thank you for doing this."_ The figure whom was most definitely Junior said to the Clockwork within the window with him, Daniela lying on the bed before them both.

 _"I assure you, it is no trouble. I had the room prepared for just such an occasion."_

 _"I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see that you're not surprised to see us."_

 _"Of all the choices you had for where to take your sister, I merely knew that I was one of them."_

Clockwork let the flashback continue to play on from there, but his proof had been shown enough. His form morphing to his prime, the ghost looked to Daniela, whom still looked at him with some distrust.

"You are still worried I am your enemy?" He asked her calmly.

"No disrespect intended, but my mother always taught me never to take anything just at face value." Daniela told him, trying to still speak to him civilly despite her worries. "What you just showed me could very easily have been faked."

"Hmm…that is a fair point. Even more so considering how my exact powers work." Clockwork conceded on that logic. "But, if it eases you any, you are free to leave at any time. I never lock my doors because technically I'm always here." He informed her, his elderly hand pointing to light at the chamber's end and the way out. "I told your brother I would keep you safe, but worried that you're being held by a stranger against your will isn't exactly the safest mindset to have right now. Certainly not when the stress might risk reopening your wounds." He pointed out to the bandaged hands, Daniela realizing she could still feel the small stings between her fingers of ecto-energy overuse.

Daniela looked over to where the exit lay, her condition leaving her a little uneasy as to how well she could actually manage out there in the Ghost Zone's wilds on her own in her injured state.

"…Where has my brother gone, do you know?" She asked the ghost.

"He's off to confront the man whom tipped him to go talk to Danny about what's been happening with your family." Clockwork the toddler answered her honestly. "As you've likely already surmised, that tip was a trap and Junior was quite unhappy about it."

"Who was it?"

"No one he can't handle." Clockwork assured her with a smile. "Now then, as I said, you many leave whenever you wish. But I would still advise staying here for the time being, just until your wounds are more healed. Feel free to explore my home and look through the time-windows to keep yourself entertained, though do avoid falling in. Down the hall you just came from are numerous looks into alternate timelines; worlds that could have been this one. But there are still some that look at this world's past and future. I'd like to avoid unnecessary alterations and hardships. One wrong slip and you could accidentally erase yourself from history."

What the ghost was saying was a lot to take in all at once, and he was speaking as though all this stuff should be so mundane to her. "Time-windows?" Daniela naturally asked.

"You are surprised a man named Clockwork has abilities relating to time?" Clockwork asked her back rhetorically, shifting back to his prime and Daniela still having difficulty getting used to that sudden change. "Sorry. Like with your brother, I sometimes forget where I am relative to you. You'll become more familiar with all this in time, ironically."

Still a bit confused over everything that was happening and being said around her, Daniela slowly walked off, nursing her headache.

Knowing the girl had decided to at least give her hands a little while to heal, if only to not stress them when opening portals out of this realm should she actually need to escape from him, Clockwork went back to his original viewscreen, reopening the window in time with a simple wave of his hand.

Within this glimpse into history, a great number of warriors clashed across a glorious battlefield.

* * *

… _ **Roughly 27 years ago, Asgard…**_

" _Yeesh. I almost feel sorry fer de lot of dem." Grim commented as he watched another Norseman, Fandral, he believed, take a mallet to the face and get sent flying._

" _Their entire afterlife revolves around fighting anyway, doesn't it?" Mandy pointed out, her head following along with her husband's the warrior's skyward arc before he landed. "Not that much different from their usual."_

" _I was more referring ta dem havin' ta send dat afterlife wit Billy. Though since ya brought it up, is it really safe for ya ta be so close ta de battlefield right now?" Grim said, pointing out the noticeable bulge of her stomach. "Not dat I want ya ta be havin' a slimy little quarter-Nergal, but still."_

" _I'll be fine, Grim. I could just really use a cigarette right now." Mandy said, tilting her head back with a longing sigh. She was going to smoke an entire three carton's worth once this pregnancy was finally over._

 _Another other the Warrior's Three flew over them, this one definitely Volstagg given the wide shadow that momentarily blotted out the sun._

" _Grim! Mandy! Did ya see that one?! Didja?! Didja?!" Billy called out to his friends from the center of the conflict, holding the Warhammer that was twice as tall as he was; the child not looking a day over the day he died. "I think that was a homerun."_

" _We saw it, Billy." Mandy assured him._

" _Try and get de next one between de goat stables!" Grim suggested excitedly to him._

" _O-kay!" Billy agreed cheerfully, running off to cause more destruction further into the battlefield._

 _Grim did find himself smiling oddly content at how happy his old forced-friend was. "Kind of funny how it took us so long ta remember dis place."_

" _No kidding. Unlimited access to the root beer fountain alone should keep him distracted for at least a decade." Mandy commented evenly. "Still, you sure that enchantment of yours is going to work, Grim?"_

" _Given the subject in question is Billy, no, not entirely." The Reaper admitted, Mandy not exactly able to get mad at him for it. After all, she'd known the unpredictable idiot even longer than he had. "But yeah, in theory, wit de spell, as long as we keep de hammer contained, de protections will remain on Asgard ta keep Billy contained. Mind you, it'll greatly help ta not have him stress dem protections."_

" _That's what the Halls of Valhalla are for." Mandy said, reminding herself as much as him. "Billy's attention span means he can't focus on anything significant for more than five minutes. Valhalla's endless cycle of eating, fighting, dying, and rebirth should play into that, making it so that leaving this realm never even gets to be a thought in his non-existent brain."_

" _Not dat de cycle itself ain't without some risks." Grim remarked to her._

" _Meaning?"_

" _What I mean is dat Billy ain't like all dese other savages." Grim explained, Mandy pulling on the front of his robe to casually move him out of the path of a stray flying axe. "Thank you. De both of ya have been exposed ta tons of magic and supernatural spells over de years due ta ya being horrible little monsters always abusing me powers. Most of it has been wiped away, but traces remain. And wit Billy's afterlife body gonna be reborn over and over again, dem traces could be reenergized and eventually come back in full swing. De next time we see him, he could be made of chocolate again fer all we know."_

" _Well, at least that might give these so-called warriors a chance." Mandy quipped dryly, though the pondering look on his wife's face told Grim she did fully understand what he was saying. "So all that potential power he could regain, and that's even without holding Mjölnir. God, I can't believe that idiot is worthy."_

" _Only on a technicality, Mandy. Only on a technicality." Grim reminded her, though sharing the same unenthused sentiment. The only thing scarier than someone with the power of a god is an idiot with that same power. "De same one dat let him past Heaven's gates before de saints got fed up and kicked him out. Still, you've now got Mr. Zebub owin' ya a favor, gettin' Billy ta finally leave Heck and all."_

" _Hrm. Let's hope that whatever the case may be, I use up that favor before I'm ever desperate enough to set him loose again." Mandy stated painly._

" _Oh, come now. Admit it, you missed havin' him around, didn't ya?" Grim remarked to his wife with a sly grin._

" _Hrm." Mandy responded with another simple grunt, refusing to answer further. "Let's go home, Grim. You know Junior gets fussy when I'm away too long." She told him, turning to walk away from the battlefield. "…Make sure we have a window we can use to check up on him every now and then." She added on with another thought before going back on her way._

 _After a bit of self-satisfied chuckling to himself, Grim placed his hand as his mouth's side. "Billy! We're going out for a bit ta buy cigarettes!" He yelled out to him over the noisy clashes of swords and shields. "We'll be back later!"_

" _Bring back pretzels!" Billy yelled back before going back to seeing how far into the Earth he could hammer in Hogun before his body would vanish back to Valhalla._

* * *

Billy turned his neck every which way to look around the barren, mountainous wastes that were the lands of Grimskull, scratching his head with his hammer in confusion.

"Grim? Mandy? Huh, where is everyone?" He asked, it not occurring to him to look down, as his massive spring green colored body practically dwarfed Skarr and the regenerating zombies all around him.

Billy continued to scratch at his head, wondering where his friends had gone off to, when he finally realized what in his hand he was scratching with, causing his face to light up with ecstatic glee.

"HAAAH! Ice cream cone!" Billy gasped, his eyes sparkling at Mjölnir's appearance. "I wondered where you went." With a grotesque stretch of his tongue, Billy gave the hammer's side a long, savoring lick. In response the hammer zapped him back with a few ten thousand volts. As evidenced by the frizzing of his beard, Billy felt the lightning, but it wasn't entirely clear whether it'd actually hurt him. "Ooh. Tingly flavor. Tee hee hee hee hee."

Up in the control room of the _Still Impressive_ , the Boogieman addressed the others.

"Gentleman. Lady. I would suggest we make our leave to our designated missiles for Wave 2." He said, gaining Drax and Eris's attentions away from the newly arrived big-nosed god on the monitors. "With haste, I'd recommend." He added, as he himself was nearly out the door. "Oh. BEMJ, you stay here and manage the zombies, okay?" He said with a friendly pat on the slimy green brain, the meteor looking at the others with its single eyestalk in confusion, not sure why everyone was getting so worked up over this one man. "I get the feeling he'll need some backup."

As the dream demon, the mad scientist, and the goddess all quickly went on their way (fast as they all could run), the Brain-Eating Meteor Jr looked through the minds and through the eyes of the zombies he controlled to see Skarr on the ground far below, his legs still quivering as the tall Billy still hadn't seen him yet. It was plainly obvious even to the alien that the general was fighting his every instinct not to just run away. Whoever this Billy was, he'd given Skarr some kind of long-lasting trauma.

But thankfully for the general he soon found it in himself to dig in, his boots inching into the dirt as his brow furled and his fear was replaced by steadily increasing rage. Before his working eye played back every memory of how he'd suffered at this one boy's hands, and mindless as it was, Skarr found the strength to move again.

"No." He declared, bearing his teeth. "No!" He said again, pulling out his pistol. "NO!" He screamed, opening fire upon Billy. "DIE! DIEEEEE!" Skarr's bloody shrieks echoed along with his bullets. The rounds didn't even penetrate Billy's skin but Skarr refused to stop, pulling out his spare laser pistol and shooting with that one too. "For my honor! For my pride! For my garden, you will DIEEEEEEEE!"

Finally it was all of the general's unhinged screaming that got Billy to eventually look down and notice him. "Oh! Hey! Mr. Weirdo One-Eyed Neighbor man! What are you doing here?" He asked happily, Skarr's only response back being to shoot now at Billy's face, to about the same effect. Everything either bounced off his nose or got stuck in his beard. "Tee hee hee! Stop! That tickles!" Billy laughed, rubbing his nose. "Tee hee ha! Stop! You're gonna-! You're gonna-! Ah-! Ah-!" Skarr finally gave a pause when he saw Billy's head tilt back and his nostrils flare. "AHCHOOO!" Billy sneezed, the sheer force of his winds striking with the force of a tornado, flaying Skarr's flesh down to the bone and kicking up a massive dust storm.

When the thick cloud passed and the noise of the noise of the _Still Impressive_ 's windshield wipers squeaked along with Billy as he wiped his noise off on his sleeve, the muscle and skin of Skarr's body regrew across his bare skeleton, the general gritting his teeth and scowling with murder in his eyes as his healed body sat back up. Once his clothes were restored he ran forward screaming, right at his hated enemy

"Hey…wait a second…" Billy said skeptically, his pea-brain trying to put two and two together. "Are you trying to steal my ice cream?" He asked, thinking Skarr's reaching arms were trying to get up to his hand carrying Mjölnir instead of around his throat. "Well…okay. But just one lick, alright? It's still mine."

With a single swing of his arm, and Skarr's shrinking pupil seeing it coming only at the last second, Billy brought the hammer down directly atop the general; the impact causing all the mountains around the two to give a single jump.

"Sharing is caring, after all." Billy said, trying to sound wise as he lifted Mjölnir back up, only to then be confused again as he saw nothing but the crater he'd unintentionally created. "Hey, where'd he go?" Billy asked himself, looking around to see where the general could have gone off to, not noticing Skarr's bent and moaning body smeared against the hammer's face.

* * *

A smack against the jaw with the knight's cudgel and another zombie head went flying back, joining the others in the crowd he'd pushed back. But the body itself just kept moving forward, its head being picked by another of its kind and morphed into its features.

"Truly, a relentless army." Lord Pain commented to himself, having been fighting for several minutes now without rest; the adrenaline wearing thin and making it harder for him to ignore the sting of the bullets still in his leg. Still, the knight kept smiling and puffed out his chest in defiance. "What better a foe to face to prove the metal and might that is Lord Pain?!" He declared joyously, the gold in his eyes giving off another bright spark.

" _They were supposed to be your army, you moron!"_ Pride screamed at him, trying to throttle his head despite being an astral being. _"Why aren't you listening to me anymore?!"_

Pain crushed the skull of another enemy, but as soon as he did so he left himself open for zombie, sprinting on all fours, to come barreling at him teeth-first.

A laser beam of red light suddenly shot out from behind the knight to strike the zombie. As soon as the energy touched, the undead creature exploded violently in a show blood, light, and screaming.

"God, I love the Unmaker." Lord Pain heard, quickly turning in excitement to see a scythe portal closing, leaving behind his great masters; the Grim Reaper and the Underworld's most feared queen, the latter decked out in more prized items than Pain could count, though it was the odd cannon she held by its handle that caught his eye, seeming made out of a skull and bones along with all that metal.

The zombies, seeing the woman the Brain-Eating Meteor had deemed to them as their number one enemy, charged forward mindlessly to slay her. Grim stayed standing calmly where he was, knowing there was no danger and not being foolish enough to get in the way of his wife's fun, as at that moment Mandy's gun finished warming up and went back on the assault. The Unmaker didn't just blow the horde apart into bloody chunks. The energy that rippled through their bodies, it practically atomized them.

The cannon entered its cool-down, just in time as the crowd Pain had been struggling with for the past several minutes had been completely dispersed by his master in mere seconds.

"I was hopin' dat would work after de general told us dese things got made usin' his demonic DNA." Grim commented, taking a moment to look down the giant hole in the floor the Nergolian Death Worm had created, happy to see that nothing else was climbing up all those broken levels.

"How you holding up, Charles?" Mandy asked the knight as she heaved the Unmaker back over her back, alongside Scythe 2.0 and a circular red, white, and blue shield.

"Like a spring chicken locked in legendary gladiatorial combat!" He answered with a proud grin and a pump of his cudgel, making Mandy wonder if maybe the blood loss was starting to get to him.

"You still have Pride under control?"

" _AAAGGGGGHHHHHH!"_

"Good boy." Mandy said with a simple pat on Pain's head, much to his delight, before she turned to her husband. "Grim, patch me through to Billy."

"Right, right." The Reaper said with a sigh as he held out his scythe, the blade emitting a now blue glow as he started punching in almost a telephone number on some invisible buttons on its surface.

* * *

Skarr freed himself from where he was stuck on the hammer, landing flat on his face as his bones righted themselves. Still, Billy remained oblivious, both to his presence and that of the many Nergal-zombies chewing on him, their efforts completely in vain. Billy's squeaky muscles were like rubber in their rotting jaws; too springy and bouncy to be bitten through, leaving the mortal-turned-god completely unharmed as he looked around in befuddlement as to where he even was.

"Heeeeeeey… This isn't As-gad." He remarked to himself in slow realization, still unable to remember the name of his home for the past several years. "There's too many rocks and not enough meat and people punching each other."

Suddenly, Mjolnir vibrated in his hand. Eying the hammer with interest, Billy poked at its head, causing a blue-tinted holograph to then emit out from the other side before him, showing the forms of the blonde queen and the Grim Reaper.

"Help me, Billy-Wan Kenobi. Yer my only hope."

Mandy raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the skeleton.

"What? I've always wanted ta say dat."

Billy gave a gasp of pure joy upon seeing his two old friends again. "Grim! Mandy!" He ran forward to hug them, stomping effortlessly through the zombie's in his way, but as he still held Mjolnir in his hand, the projection stayed constantly out of reach, like a carrot tied to the head of a really dumb horse. "Where you guys going?" He asked, slightly upset before his short attention was captured by something else and he immediately forgot about it. "Say….something's different about you two… Did you do something with your hair?" He finally stopped to ask.

Mandy figured he was probably referring to the fact they were speaking through a hologram right now, as otherwise this was one of the few times Billy asked that clueless question and they did look exactly the same as the last time he'd seen them.

"Never mind that now." Mandy waved off the question, getting down to business. "Now listen up, pinhead. You remember that…uh… _evil empire_ you defeated when we were kids?"

"De one on dat planet ya drowned in yogurt." Grim added on to clarify.

"You mean the Infinitesimal Evil?" Billy asked, clenching his fists before his face as he remembered them (or at least, remembered what he'd imagined of them). "Evil so small it can't be seen by the human eye!"

Mandy gave an off look to the side. "Yes…well…it's back." She lied. "You see those zombies around you and that spaceship? That's theirs. They've come back seeking revenge."

"Really?" Billy asked sincerely as he finally took notice of the biting zombies, the gears barely turning in his tiny brain. "But why are they so big now?"

Grim took this one for his wife. "Uh…experimentation! They mutated themselves to become giant-sized! Since being small worked so well for them, they should be even more powerful as they get bigger!"

Billy gave a horrified gasp. "Giant tiny evil?! If they can be giant and tiny at the same time, then they're the strongest of both worlds! They'll be unstoppable!"

"And that why we brought you in." Mandy told him, grateful the fabricated story worked. It'd take way too long to get it through Billy's thick head what was actually happening. "You beat them before, you can beat them now. Can we count on you to do that?"

"And if you win, we'll all go out fer pizza afterward." Grim sweetened the deal happily.

"With pickles and chocolate as toppings?" Billy asked hopefully.

"Mm hmm." Grim nodded with a smile.

Billy gave an excited squee before standing up straight to give a stoic salute. "King Spring-Green Squeaker reporting for inter-galactic evil stopping duty!" He declared. "In the name of truth! Justice! And yo-!"

A giant black maw with teeth composed of sharp rocks came up from behind Billy and swallowed him whole, cutting off the transmission.

Not all of the splattered Death Worm had go on to reconfigure back into zombies. When it saw that the undead soldiers were having no effect, the Brain-Eating Meteor had the rest of the black mass merge to create a new worm, smaller than the original but still sizable enough to do the job.

General Skarr, though it took him a moment to get over his shock, couldn't be happier. "Yes. Yes…!" He exclaimed as he ran on repaired legs over to the van-sized hole in the ground the worm had also scooped up when it ate Billy. "That's it! Chew him! Mash him! Digest him for over a thousand years and make him suffer throughout it! Yes!"

The Nergolian death worm let out an echoing belch, with the gleeful Skarr not even caring how rancid it smelled as it hit him. **"Braaaains…"** It uttered mindlessly, no doubt absorbing the zombies that'd been clinging to Billy into its body.

But then the worm's face gave an odd expression, before then having its closed-mouth puff up, like it needed to vomit. Thick pink liquid started to ooze down its jaw and through the tear ducts of its many eyes as the beast started to inflate. Slowly taking steps back, Skarr's mood shifted from sadistic euphoria to deep distress as the worm's body continued to swell, growing larger and larger until it eventually hit its breaking point.

The worm's explosion sent tremors all throughout the mountains, knocking Skarr back quite a few feet as he was swept up in the flash-flood of fruit-at-the-bottom yogurt and Nergal Zombie guts. In the center of the carnage, Billy stood tall, pink dairy still dripping from his pits.

"Nice try, giant tiny evil! But it'll take more than that to beat a true superhero!" He declared with a dramatic pointed finger, squeaking as he moved. "Now watch, as yogurt and ice cream cone combine their powers to vanquish you! For Odan! For As-gland! For all things great and small, environmentally safe, and partially hydrogenated, I-…! Uh…. I-! Uhhh….I SHOOT MAH YOGURT!" Billy roared, throwing his arms back behind his head, as like the thunder in the magenta clouds above, strawberry-filled yogurt erupted from the depths of his armpits, blasting back everything and everyone around him in a tidal wave of fruity goodness.

* * *

Grim watched the TV static that filled the viewscreen that'd been created on his scythe. "What do ya think de odds are dat de zombies actually put Billy down fer good?" Grim asked his wife.

The castle gave a rumble as Billy's onslaught touched upon it.

"I don't think the universe is ever going to get that lucky." Mandy commented evenly before pulling out Scythe 2.0 and the colorful vibranium shield in her left and right hands respectively. "Grim, portal yourself to the castle's top levels and start working your way down." She ordered, getting right back to business. "I'll take this floor and do the same."

Looking over to their blue-clad servant, still not used to seeing him without his helmet, Grim said "We should probably get Charles inta de vault. He's pretty injured."

Looking over herself at the knight, Mandy studied his body to make her decision. "Charles, what do you think?" She asked him evenly.

"It is true my wounds have slowed me." Lord Pain admitted, making an effort to stand despite his bleeding leg. "However, I know full well that General Nergal and the young master are in worse states, neither in any condition to fight. Out here, I can better protect them by keeping our enemies from getting close to the vault and risk breaking through its doors."

"Dere is still de big pit de worm created right before de doors." Grim pointed out.

"They're shapeshifters, Grim. Scaling over or even becoming the floor wouldn't be that hard of a task." Mandy said as a counterpoint. "Charles, you really think you can handle staying out here all by yourself?" She asked the knight, only the vaguest hint of concern.

In response, Lord Pain just smiled at her and held up his cudgel. "So long as I have at least one good arm with which to swing, I shall not be defeated so easily."

Mandy was silent for another minute before noises from far down the hall started to creep in and grab everyone's attentions. More of her former skeleton servants, now black and Nergalized and lumbering forward to tear their old queen apart. Lord Pain took a step forward as soon as he saw them coming in the distance, but Mandy halted him with a simple raise of her hand.

And then she stabbed Pain in the neck with a syringe, injecting the knight with a glowing green concoction.

Both Grim and Pain were given quite the fright by Mandy's sudden action, but as the green burned through his veins, Lord Pain felt the tremendous rush of energy and renewed strength flowing through his muscles.

"MY GOD! MASTER! WHAT IS THIS MARVELOUS SERUM?!" The knight asked, unaware that he was shouting as he felt hyper enough to give a jump and a few twirls.

"Venom." She answered simply, walking forward to be at the front of the oncoming zombies. "The drug, not the alien, sadly." She added before Grim could ask. "I prefer not to have my servants on addictive steroids, but given the circumstances, it's the best way to keep you in the game."

She then fell oddly silent for a moment.

"Charles." She addressed him.

"Yes, my master?!"

"…Don't die. That's an order." Mandy said without looking back to see him.

"…Yes, my master." He said, making a great effort to force his body to calm down so that he may properly salute her, causing Pride to feel nauseous and unable to understand why she couldn't control him anymore.

After a single nod of her head, Mandy ran forward at the charging horde, weapons drawn and not a drop of doubt in her features that she'd win.

"It amazes me sometimes how much I've grown ta love dat truly frightening woman." Grim remarked as he ripped open a scythe portal, even as he did so still being unable to take his eyes off his queen as she made the first blow against her turned minion, cutting a Nergalized body upwards right in half with the shield's edge.

* * *

Twirling Mjolnir by its strap at incredible speed, Billy hovered over the lake of yogurt he'd created. Still under attack, zombies leapt up from the pink depths to strike at the god. But the dense yogurt that covered them slowed the undead significantly, allowing them to just barely even poke their exposed brains up to the surface before being sent flying by the hammer's swing.

"How do you like them strawberries, giant tiny evil?!" Billy asked as fruit continued to rain down from above, some ignited by the flashes of lightning, making the red spears explode with surprising force as some of the unfortunates discovered.

It started as barely a ripple but soon burst forth like a raging geyser; a massive black hand big as Billy's body, grabbing him and squishing his buff, squeaky figure in its fingers like a stress ball. Emerging soon after came the rest of the body the hand was attached to, revealing the shape and form of not only a giant version of the previous smaller zombies as the yogurt oozed off it, but Skarr as well, his body almost completely submerged in the beast's chest, save for his torso and head. Not that many would think the latter of those was doing much better, given the single zombie head with its teeth sunken into the general's scalp.

"Not this time! Not this time!" Skarr declared as a man with only one mission now, forcing himself to ignore all pain he felt as his blood dripping down his forehead from the teeth punctures. "I will not allow my moment of glory to once again be denied by you of all people!" The collective beast's hand moved like it was his own, allowing for Skarr to almost feel the palm pushing the air out of his victim's lungs.

"Mr. Weirdo Neighbor Man? You're working with the evil empire?" Billy asked, actually sounding heartbroken over it.

"MY NAME! IS GENERAL! SKARR!" He bellowed, coating the big nose in spittle as the zombie hand brought Billy closer. "Decades too long have I been waiting for my revenge! I didn't get to be there for your first death, but after everything I've done, every alliance I've made with monsters, betrayers, and demons, it'll all be worth it if I get to be the cause of this one!" He cackled maniacally as the other giant hand cupped around the first, the two appendages squeezing their prey tightly with all their strength. "Yes! YES!" Skarr cheered as he finally saw pain coming across the features of Billy's purpling face. "I don't care what you've become since we've been apart! Man or god, you're still that little annoying neighbor boy whom I should have done away with long ago!"

"But I…gave you…ice creeeeeeam…" Billy choked the words out.

"Ignore him, Reginald." Skarr said quietly to himself as the hand kept squeezing. "Just focus on the light going out in his eyes. The dawning realization he'll have that he'll never be able to enjoy yogurt or meat or that pizza the Reaper promised him ever again."

As his vision started to go dark, that last line triggered the memory in Billy's brain.

" _And if you win, we'll all go out fer pizza afterward."_ Grim had said.

" _Pizza…"_

" _Pizza…"_

" _Pizza…!"_

The hands of the zombie collective started to shake heavily. Some kind of pressure building up against them that the palms could barely contain.

"For pizza…" Billy uttered, so quietly Skarr could barely hear him, especially over the rumbling. "For PIZZA!"

With a defiant roar, the power became too much and Billy's arms were shot straight upwards as the yogurt blasted out of his armpits like some mad fire hydrant, exploding forth with enough force to completely obliterate the hands that bound him.

"What?! No!" Skarr screamed as the mass of Nergal tentacles from the now stumps stretched out to ensnare his enemy again, but a quick trust back of Mjolnir and Billy flew right out of reach, landing atop the mountain closest to the castle that wasn't already submerged in yogurt.

"None shall defeat Spring-Green Squeaker that easily!" Billy said down to the teeth-grinding Skarr down below. "Now face the wrath of my secret weapon!"

Setting Mjolnir aside by his foot, Billy's abs suddenly raised themselves upwards into his body like a garage door, showing the empty metal cabinet inside as dual soft-serve dispensers dropped down from within his massive chest. As two plastic serving containers jumped up to sit directly underneath their respective dispensers, Billy cranked down on the handles, filling them up with a light pink frozen concoction. And as soon as they reached their limit and the blue sprinkles were added, the containers launched forward, catapulted by some unknown force right into Skarr's face.

"What in the-?" Skarr spat out the pink substance as the collective zombie's chest grew tentacles to wipe the container off his face. He smacked his lips, tasting what little still remained in his mouth. "Frozen yogurt? That's your secret weapon?!"

In response to that, Billy just kept screaming and firing, shooting off one after another in rapid succession as the containers filled faster each time.

"You know what? Fine! I don't care! As long as I still get to kill you!" Skarr yelled as the giant zombie's body bounded up the mountain to reach the god, uncaringly taking every hit sent its way as it wasn't even phased by the frosty treats. Its former stumps of hands sharpened to form thousands of bladed needles, the general taking no chances this time and just going to run the moron through.

Speeding through the volley of frozen yogurt was like forcing his way through a brightly colored blizzard, but it'd all be worth it soon as Skarr finally reached him, Billy not even bothering to move as the giant arm wound up for its strike, throwing itself forward right at him.

The blades hit Billy's green pecs dead-on and immediately shattered like glass.

"WHAT?!" Skarr couldn't help but let out in his shock, letting himself be distracted for too long as Billy picked Mjolnir back up. With a single mighty swing, Billy brought the hammer down on the area of so many broken blades, with the impact forcing the entire arm back before seconds later the limb completely shattered too. "WHAT?! BEMJ! What is the meaning of this?!"

From where he was inside the spaceship, the Brain-Eating Meteor was still hard at work controlling all the zombies beyond just the many Skarr had merged with. To anyone else it would seem things were going about as well as could be expected, but the alien could feel it; the connection between him and all the zombies getting slower, stemming from the battle with Billy.

" _Brains, brains, I won't lie!_

 _The cold isn't good for the ones we've zombified!_

 _Sure you might think that it's insane_

 _But I don't feel well_

 _I think he's f-f-freezing my brain!"_

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Skarr shrieked in rage both aloud and through the mental link. He commanded the giant's other arm to attack, but with the meteor gradually succumbing to brain freeze, the message was heavily delayed in getting through. Even when it did, the icicles covering the collective gave many cracks and crunches in resistance to any movement. Somehow, that brat's frozen yogurt was causing Skarr's mighty creature to become frozen as well!

With no mercy (and likely about as much awareness as too how much damage he was actually doing), Billy swung the hammer forward again and easily blew apart the other arm.

* * *

Like her longtime friend, Mandy used the zombies' weakness to cold against them as well, though with the important difference of it being an actually realization on her part, rather than Billy's completely dumb luck and happy coincidence. Fortune truly did favor the stupid.

Cracking open the Casket of Ancient Winters for just a few seconds, Mandy caked the entire hallway in which she stood with thick ice and snow, including all her zombie attackers. Given how powerful the rage of a thousand killing winters was even in that short time before she closed the box, nearly flaying her skin off with frostbite, it wasn't an item she'd have used if she was even still on the same floor as the vault.

From the bright yellow utility belt around her waist, Mandy pulled out and threw numerous bat-shaped shuriken right into the zombies' heads. After a rapid series of beeps, the weapons exploded, scattering the still frozen bits of the mindless minions all over the place. Smaller size, more susceptible to the cold, and less likely that a full body to break the ice.

Hearing cracks coming from above, Mandy leapt backwards out of the way just as a new group of hungry zombies burst in through the ceiling, tentacles first. The appendages rushed to ensnare their prey and Mandy in response unhooked a lightsaber from the belt, igniting its crimson red blade and rapidly slashing through every bit of black flesh that came her way like butter.

More zombies coming down the hole, Mandy decided to cut the problem off at its source. Pulling out a red and white tiny metal sphere from her belt, clicking the button at its center to enlarge it to the size of her palm, Mandy threw the ball up into the hole, blinding all the zombie in range as the sphere opened up and a creature was summoned in a show of bright light.

It was some yellow, six-legged alien creature that'd been brought forth. If the zombies had any memories of what they used to be, they'd recognize the scaled reptile as also being a native beast of Mars like them. That said, the horde did notice that the creature started licking its long chops as soon as it spotted them.

"Admiral Wolverine Lightning-Bolt! Sic 'em!" Mandy commanded up to it.

She certainly didn't need to tell it twice. A single roar and the beast charged forth, the zombies quickly getting the message as to what this thing's diet was as soon as it chomped up and swallowed the first few of them.

As Admiral Wolverine Lightning-Bolt chased the zombies on the upper floor away from the hole, Mandy's eyes were directed to back down her own hallway, where more zombies were trying to get to her. Try being the operative word, as all the ice everywhere gave them no friction to work with to move forward.

A simple point forward of Scythe 2.0 and a ball of plasma gathered quickly at its head. Her thumb hitting the right button along the staff's surface and that plasma morphed into a stretching white laser, going all the way down to the further reaches of the hallway as it cut through zombie after zombie on its queen's slightest movements.

"This is starting to get mundane." Mandy commented to herself, feeling the boredom starting to kick in after doing this for so many floors now. Maybe she'd have more of a challenge if the vault hadn't been sealed enough to protect all the electronics in her collection from the EMP. "…I wonder how Grim's doing?"

* * *

"Ooooohhhhhhhh…!" Grim sang, completely on-key as his scythe cut cleanly through the first neck. "One little, two little, three little zombie heads! Four little, five little, six little zombie heads! Seven little, eight little, nine little zombie heads…!" With every number came another swing and with it another head flying from an undead's shoulders. "And I still have a million to goooooooooo-Ohhhhhhh!" He hit that final note happily as he slammed the base of his scythe's staff against the floor, causing unearthly purple flames to erupt outwards from the point of impact, consuming and incinerating all the zombie bits behind him. Like his wife, such a far-reaching attack was something he'd held back from using before when at risk of getting his family caught up in it as well.

* * *

With only its head and body remaining, the collective zombie's gargantuan jaws lunged forward, taking a bite out of the mountaintop but still getting no Billy, whom took off further up into the sky.

"And now here's something I like to call: Hurricane Hydrogenate!"

With more power than any of his previous attacks, the yogurt blasted out from his armpits again. But this time his hands made themselves useful, spinning Mjolnir above his head, faster and faster by its strap. Mighty winds roared as they were caught up in the hammer's speed. Not only did the yogurt from Billy's pits start following their path but from the lake he'd created as well, Skarr watching as gallons upon gallons of dairy defied gravity and lifted up to form the whirling arena around them both.

The _Still Impressive_ began to rock heavy, the refitted ship's thrusters barely able to resist the tornado's pull. Still the winds' strength continued to build, pelting the metal hull with boulders ripped right from the surrounding mountains. Even Grimskull was hardly spared, the castle almost trembling on its foundation, with thankfully the only parts of it giving way being the numerous missiles the family's enemies had fired upon it. Ripped right out of the castle's walls, the missiles became sucked right up into the onslaught, hammering the ship until an unfortunate strike took out the engine. As the _Still Impressive_ was sent tumbling into the storm against any control of its own, the zombie-controlling meteor now had its own distraction to deal with.

General Skarr could only stare up dumbfounded into the heavens, where it all gathered. Just as the boy had called it; a hurricane swirling miles up in the air, thunder roaring and lightning spitting out from its vortex to bake the landscape; a single speck of green and his hammer in the eye of the storm, at the center of it all.

Death in the color pink.

"HAAAAAAAA!" Billy gave a warrior's cry, thrusting his hammer forward to direct the full force of his power down upon Skarr.

"No…" Skarr uttered, everything in his mind seeming to just shut down as his vision was filled by nothing but a pink void and bright white flashes. "No…! NO! NO! NO! NO!" The zombie mass covered the rest of Skarr's body and sunk him deeper into itself to try and protect him, but the effort was in vain. The Hurricane Hydrogenate struck down upon the monstrosity with the power of a thousand Captain Heifers, and when the final lightning bolt cracked and set off the volatile chain, the blinding pink explosion could be seen for miles on end away from Grimskull, as well as the following mushroom cloud, shaped not unlike a giant strawberry.

* * *

From where he watched the entire event, Grim shook his fist out the window. "I ain't cleanin' dat up, boy!"

* * *

After several long minutes, the waves finished crashing and the ocean of yogurt he'd created stilled, with Castle Grimskull just barely keeping its walls poked up above the surface. Feeling great pride in himself in his accomplished works as his feet softly touched down on one of the few bits of land left, Billy held his fists to his side, puffing up his large chest as he struck a heroic pose.

"And that, giant tiny evil, is what happens when you form an evil empire that doesn't appreciate sharing!" He declared with a smile, it being no surprise to anyone that he didn't realize he was standing on the slowly sinking _Still Impressive_. "DUH HA HA HAAAA hooooo."

* * *

Within the vault, sitting against the snoozing Cerberus in awkward silence as their respective injuries slowly healed, it was quite plain to see that the rumbles from the battle outside these doors made Manny and Nergal Jr feel quite useless.

"So… Your cousin, huh?" Manny tried to make Smalltalk.

"Yep."

"…Any resemblance?"

"Thankfully not."

"…"

"…"

"… _Daniela, Junior, please come home soon!"_

* * *

The green-bladed scythe that pointed its edge at HIM gave a small tremble as Junior's hands shook with how angry he was. Such an obvious trap and he'd fallen right into it.

"Let me out of here, Kare." Junior threatened the red devil, bearing his teeth to him as his energy flowed through the Nergal-made scythe. "If this magic box of yours is strong enough to keep me trapped, then so are you, and if you don't let me out, right now, I will-!"

"Okay."

"I will-! …What?"

"Okay." HIM repeated with a simple shrug. "You can go."

From one of the pockets on his suit, HIM pulled out a small remote, just a single button on it like a garage door opener. With just a single click of his claw down on the button, the pentagram seals etched into the invisible walls lit up and flashed heavily for a few seconds before dying down completely, Junior then feeling his connection to the outside realms returning.

"Walls are down. You can go." HIM explained simply, casually chucking the remote over his shoulder and into the lavafall, indeed no barrier popping up to stop it.

For a long moment, it felt like Junior's brain had just broken, unable to comprehend what just happened. "You just… But why…?"

"Turner only ordered me to keep you here. He never really specified for how long, which, personally, I feel was a gross oversight on his part." HIM explained with a snicker before walking back to his desk. When Junior still didn't move, he shooed at him with his claw. "Well, go on now. Your family isn't going to save itself. Well…I mean…you're not going to be able to either, but you might as well make a show of it."

Junior felt like his mind was at a loss for a near eternity before he finally found the words. "Why would you do this for me?"

"I'm not. I'm doing it for me." HIM answered confidently. "In everything I do, no matter who I play with, I'm always rooting for myself. It just happens sometimes that others I use along the way get some benefit too. Case in point." He gestured at all of Junior.

"But what benefit did you gain from any of this?" Junior naturally asked, trying to make sense of any of what was happening. "Wasting my time for just a few minutes before letting me go, a move that's almost guaranteed to piss of the people you're working for-"

"With." HIM corrected.

"…-with. What's your plan here? How does any of this fit into it?"

HIM was quiet for a moment, though only because of the tight smirk splitting across his face. "Junior, a true mastermind isn't someone with some elaborate grand plan that they follow to the letter. It's someone with multiple plans they can fall back on for whatever happens to still accomplish their goal, or goals in my case."

"Such as bringing my mother down?"

HIM just chuckled at the very question. "As much as her ego would protest otherwise, not everything is about her. True, I want to see her fall and keeping you here would certainly help with that. That's one plan. But on the other hand, the God of Magic is just as big of a pain in the neck, as evidenced by the fact that he thinks he can order me around. By setting you free, I open multiple possibilities for what could happen. A) You somehow manage to kill Turner, taking him out of my hair while his minions' assault on her fortress still leaves Mandy vulnerable, B) You're too late and Turner destroys Grimskull anyway, taking Mandy off the table, or C) All three of you kill each other and I'm unscathed. And those are just the ones off the top of my head. I'm gambling, certainly, but the majority of outcomes I can certainly live with."

"Unless he kills you, of course." Junior pointed out.

"You have far more reasons to want me dead and you still haven't done it." HIM pointed out with a smirk, leaning back in his chair and setting his feet up on his desk. "Silver tongue, my boy. I'll be fine."

Junior couldn't exactly argue that point, but he still pushed it away to the back of his mind, not wanting to acknowledge the thought anymore. Looking over to Eris, Junior asked "What about you? You're not going to stop me?"

"My real body is all the way out at Grimskull. Even Turner isn't so demanding that he'd delude himself into thinking this apple clone could slow you down. Anything goes wrong, Kare's the one who's getting the blame." The goddess pointed out, HIM's sly grin showing he was oddly proud of that last part.

"No honor among thieves, huh?" Junior grumbled the odd adage.

"To be fair, we're at least being honest with you that you're being used as a pawn in everyone else's game." HIM remarked. "Until you stop holding yourself back and just reacting to everything that's happening, you'd better get used to having no control of your life."

"Yeah, because giving in to the Devil's Essence truly sounds like control." Junior quipped back, immediately knowing what he was getting at.

"It could be." HIM replied back simply. "It is yours now, after all."

Junior returned just a glare in response, raising up his scythe and filling it with his energy.

Eris grabbed hold of Junior arm before he could leave. "Junior, whatever happens," She emphasized to him with the greatest of importance, having seen the consuming stubborn pride in his eyes when HIM goaded him. "If you come face-to-face with Timmy, do not hesitate. You're my only chance of being freed but the God of Magic is still way beyond you. If you see your opening, take it. Use everything you have to kill him and don't hesitate."

"Why would I hesitate?" Junior asked, prompting Eris to bite back her lower lip.

HIM just laughed. "Another one of the God of Magic's big secrets that his slaves are forbidden to tell." He remarked cruelly, claw stroking his short black beard. "I suppose I could, but half the fun is in the reveal, so I won't."

It'd been enough to get Junior to pause his swing. Every moment he wasted, god only knows what was happening to his family right now. But still, he hesitated. There was so much more that Kare knew about what was going on. Knowledge that could tip the scales back in their favor, and the only thing that held him back from demanding more answers was that fact was also something the demon knew.

A quick slash through the air, Junior ripped open a scythe portal and quickly stepped on through before he could change his mind.

"I'm guessing you're personally hoping for option D, then?" Eris remarked HIM when the portal finally closed, leaving the two of them alone in the office.

"None of the above?" He said with a toothy grin. "Like I said, my chaotic companion; half the fun is in the reveal. Why go spoiling the surprise?"

* * *

Like chickens with their heads cut off. That's what they reminded Lord Pain of.

His master had done quite the job of clearing the floors she went through. Though just as she'd predicted, the hole before the vault's doors gave opportunity to plenty of stragglers. The group of zombies that'd grappled their way up from the lower floors was not as large as those Pain had to fend off earlier, and certainly not more than he could handle with the Venom flowing through him, causing the knight to practically be bouncing off the walls as he gleefully bashed in one zombie after another.

However, there was something noticeably different about these creatures when they regenerated vs. all the others from before, something Pain picked up on even in his high. The others had been eternally relentless, constantly going back on the attack as soon as they were able. These ones? They kept pausing. Hesitating. Walking into walls and often each other. They had no direction. Whatever had been leading them before was now gone.

" _The Billy lad must have done it!"_ Lord Pain had thought in a hooray, still unable to keep himself from turning the helpless zombies into mush and that couldn't be blamed on the drug. Pride still acted a shrill in his ear as he smacked a zombie's head clean off its shoulder's like it was tee-ball and he paid her little mind. Ironically, how frustrated he was making the Sin was serving to make the servant feel only more pride in himself. His masters were winning, and they were counting on him to do the same. He had already failed in his duty once to them. He swore to himself that would never happen again, with each splattered zombie and frustrated shriek from Pride on enforcing that promise to Pain's will.

The zombie head that he'd knocked off bounced along the hallway, before coming to a sudden stop as it hit something with a metallic bang; the odd noise getting him to turn his attention towards it.

A cold, silver hand with red palms was what grabbed the knight's face. With a single pull back, Lord Pain was lifted right off his feet, clear over his assaulter's horns.

And with a single thrust back down, Lord Pain's head was smashed into floor.

* * *

Grim's head gave a sudden jerk upwards. He was the only one who could sense what'd just happened. "Oh no…"

* * *

The limp body fell without dignity from Empheles' hand; the cyborg feeling a small bit of pity for the knight as his blood slid without any permanence off his slick metal skin.

"About time you arrived, Empheles." Drax remarked as he walked up at an uncaring pace behind his servant. "The zombies were starting to become a bore."

"The Boogieman will be quite upset to learn that I didn't not pursue the archer whom set me away." The Basilican remarked tonelessly, honestly unable to care less. "Given her familiar parameters, I calculate a 91% chance that she was-."

"He'll get over it. Besides, you work for me, not the alliance." Drax handwaved the entire situation away. "Now then," He smiled as his eyes lit up with the gleam coming off the vault's twin doors. "Let's go see what goodies Mandy's been holding onto for us. One in particular I'm just dying to get my hands on."

* * *

Grim nearly ripped a scythe portal open right then and there back to the vault.

But then he felt it, though the senses bestowed him upon being made Death. A presence he had not felt in…

Against all better judgment, Grim followed it, right down the corridors. He knew exactly which corner to go around as he came upon it.

In the new hallway of the castle, there was a missile embedded through the wall like there'd been in so many other areas of the home, but this one had only a single passenger; a blue demon with a leather patch over his left eye, not even bothering to keep the hood of his robe raised over his bald head. He wanted the Reaper to know exactly who he was.

"Grim." The dream demon smiled sinisterly as his uncovered eye showed nothing but his contempt for the skull within its gaze.

"Boogie." Grim scowled, the blade of his scythe reflecting back the image of the head he so desperately wanted to sever.

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 **Author's notes:** You know what's fun? Imagining Billy's giant yogurt hurricane attack while the Scorpions' _Rock you like a hurricane_ plays in the background.

Fun little tidbit, the time-windows Daniela was hearing thing through are all alternate realities to this Grim Tales universe. In my canon, the PPGD universe does still have the Avengers and the Justice League, but the _Avengers: Earth Mightiest Heroes_ and _Justice League Unlimited_ versions, not the Marvel Cinematic or CW-verse versions. Others like _My Hero Academia_ are alternate universes because their world is way too different to fit the mold of the PPGD universe and _Steven Universe_ I consider an alternate timeline since it's shown how much of an effect the Gems had on history in that show. While with _Rick and Morty_ and _Doctor Who_ the potential to jump into other universes is already there so it doesn't matter that it's an alternate reality (though it's easier for the former to do than the latter). Just a little insight onto how I feel the Grim Tales multiverse works.

In case anyone is wondering, there's going to be plenty more of Mandy's collection for her to show off in actual fights. Just wait. Though for those keeping track:

Unmaker from the _Doom_ videogames.

Scythe 2.0

Captain America's shield

Casket of Ancient Winters (Marvel Comics)

Bstman's utility belt

Pokeballs from _Pokemon_

Admiral Wolverine Lightning-Bolt

Again, more to come.

* * *

 **QTP:** What will Daniela find in Clockwork's lair? What is HIM's end goal? What particular object does Drax want from Mandy's vault? Do Manny and Nergal Jr have a chance against Empheles in their injured states? And will Junior arrive in time to make any difference?


End file.
